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It has become known that a small-sized asteroid will be passing near Earth, and this is drawing the attention of many astronomers.

On January 29th, at 5:33 p.m. (Japan time), an asteroid called "2007 TU24" is predicted to pass through the exterior lunar orbit approaching as near as 537,500km to Earth.

The asteroid is one of nearly 7,000 small celestial bodies estimated to exist near Earth. According to NASA, it is estimated to be 150-610 meters in diameter. It may be invisible to the naked eye, but it is observable by even small astrometric telescopes used by amateur astronomers.

"This will be the closest approach by a known asteroid of this size or larger until 2027," said Don Yeomans, manager of the Near Earth Object Program Office of NASA (an organization that detects, tracks and studies asteroids and comets that may collide with the Earth). Meanwhile, NASA has announced that people may be rest assured as TU24 will not collide with the Earth. So astronomy fans will be able to enjoy watching this unique astronomical showcase at ease.

Related URL/media
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/asteroid-20080124.html