Asteroid to make closest approach since 1975
Monday, January 30, 2012 - 09:01
in Astronomy & Space
On Tuesday, January 31, asteroid 433 Eros will come closer to Earth than it has in 37 years, traveling across the night sky in the constellations Leo, Sextans and Hydra. At its closest pass of 16.6 million miles (26.7 million km) the relatively bright 21-mile (34-km) -wide asteroid will be visible with even modest backyard telescopes, approaching magnitude 8, possibly even 7. It hasnt come this close since 1975, and wont do so again until 2056!