The asteroid nicknamed "Great Pumpkin" is expected to pass by Earth on Halloween. (Photo : Reuters)
A large asteroid nicknamed the "Great Pumpkin" will have a close fly-by approach to Earth on Nov. 1, Halloween. Astronomers are already gearing up in order to gather any data out of the 400-meter wide asteroid.
The asteroid was only discovered three weeks ago. It will fly past the Earth at the speed of 35 kilometers per second. Astronomers said that the asteroid's trajectory is well outside one lunar orbit and this gives them the perfect opportunity to study the passing space rock, according to Sunday Morning Herald.
Known in the Science community as 2015 TB145, the asteroid will be about 480,000 kilometers away from earth. Although its flight path is relatively farther compared to that of the moon, the distance is still relatively close in terms of cosmic standards.
NASA Jet Propulsion astronomer Lance Benner posted a message on the agency's official website saying, "The close approach of 2015 TB145 coupled with its size, suggests it will be one of the best asteroids for radar imaging we'll see fir several years."
The asteroid will be closest to the Earth at about 4:05 AM Sunday, Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
Aside from providing astronomers with valuable scientific information about cosmic bodies, the encounter will also help engineers develop tracking techniques and countermeasures for asteroids that might be of danger to the Earth, according to Reuters.
In February 2013, an asteroid 20 meters in diameter was able to penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and broke apart over Chelyabinsk, Russia. Events like this are very rare since space rocks that are able to enter Earth usually disintegrates as they enter the planet's atmosphere.
