Two Near-Earth Asteroids Passing by April 27th

NASA Space Science News

Two near-Earth asteroids are passing by our planet on April 27th: 2000 XG47 and 2001 GQ2. Amateur astronomers with 8 inch or better telescopes and CCD cameras can spot the space rocks as they brighten to ~13th magnitude in the days ahead. 2000 XG47 (pictured above) is a ~1.5 km object that comes no closer to Earth than 0.106 AU. 2001 GQ2 is much smaller (only ~300m across) but it's just as bright as its larger cousin because 2001 GQ2 is nearer to us -- only 0.02 AU (about 8 lunar distances) from our planet on Friday. [Ephemerides: 2000 XG47; 2001 GQ2][3D orbits: 2000 XG47; 2001 GQ2]