The Florence asteroid will touch the ground during the night between August 31 and September 1.
Florence will pass next to the Earth at about 7 millions of miles. NASA has, however, stated that considering distance there is no need to worry.
The peculiarity of this asteroid is its size - about 4,4 kilometers in diameter -, in fact, Paul Chodas, director of NASA's Center for the Study of Near-Earth Objects (CNEOS) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, commented: "Although many known asteroids have passed closer than Florence will, all are smaller in size - Florence is the largest asteroid to pass this close to our planet since NASA's program to detect and track these objects began." .
Its proximity to our planet will give scholars the opportunity to study it and it will be a great target for ground radars that, in addition to calculating its real size, can collect details on its surface.
Discovered in the 1981 by Schelte at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia, Florence was named in honor of Florence Nightingale (the lady with the lantern) considered the founder of modern nursery.
The asteroid will be visible for several nights, even to small telescopes, when it crosses the constellations of Capricorn, Aquarius, Dolphin and Pesciaustrali.
Photos: investireoggi.it