A mile-long, walnut-shaped asteroid with its own moon is set to pass Earth on Saturday, according to scientists.
The asteroid, known as 1999 KW4, will come within 3.2 million miles of Earth — its second-closest approach in the past 20 years, WGRZ-TV reported. While this is considered close it’s still a safe distance from Earth.
The asteroid is considered a binary system, meaning it consists of one large asteroid and a smaller moon orbiting it, CNet reported. The Las Cumbres Observatory describes its shape as “slightly squashed at the poles and with a mountain ridge around the equator, which runs all the way around the asteroid. This ridge gives the primary an appearance similar to a walnut or a spinning top.”
The asteroid will best be observed Saturday from the Southern Hemisphere. However, stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere may be able to catch a glimpse of it Monday using an 8–inch-diameter telescope, EarthSky.org reported.
The next time the asteroid will be visible from Earth will be in 2036, when it will be even closer.
