NASA / JPL
Two small asteroids in unrelated orbits will pass within the moon's distance of Earth on Wed. Both should be observable with moderate-sized amateur telescopes.
Skywatchers get ready: Two asteroids passing nearby tonight should make for quite a spectacle.
NASA says two small asteroids discovered just days ago will zip harmlessly past Earth on Wednesday, a double flyby that should be visible through a telescope.
Both asteroids should be observable with moderate-size amateur telescopes, the space agency said -- stressing that neither has a chance of hitting the Earth. In fact, asteroids like these are relatively common: A 10-meter near-Earth asteroid from the undiscovered population of about 50 million would be expected to pass almost daily within a lunar distance, and one might strike Earth's atmosphere about every 10 years on average, NASA said.
The asteroids were discovered Sunday by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona. The Minor Planet Center in Massachusetts, which tracks asteroids and comets, determined there was no chance of an Earth collision.
Asteroid 2010 RX30, thought to be 32 to 65 feet (10 to 20 meters) long, passrf within 154,000 miles (248,000 kilometers) of Earth shortly before 3 a.m. PDT; (1000 GMT) Wednesday morning.
The second one, dubbed 2010 RF12, will fly by about 11 hours later at a distance of about 49,000 miles (79,000 kilometers). NASA says the second one is slightly smaller, at just 20 to 46 feet (6 to 14 meters) long.
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