An airplane-sized asteroid is predicted to sail between Earth and the Moon on January 27. Asteroid 2024 BJ was detected earlier this month, and will come within 220,000 miles (354,000 kilometers) of Earth tomorrow—about 92% of the average distance from Earth to the Moon.
The asteroid, believed to be 82 feet across (25 meters) was first detected on January 17. According to one report, the asteroid will fly close to the moon at about 9 AM EST before it passes Earth three to four hours later, traveling at 14,200 miles per hour (22,850 km/h). It will reach its closest point to Earth at 12:30 PM EST, according to NASA. And viewing the spectacle will be available on a Virtual Telescope Project live feed at 12:15 PM EST.
Asteroid 2024 BJ is an Apollo type asteroid which are "near-earth asteroids" and make up a majority of the meteorites that occasionally fall to earth.
There are over 1,600 currently known Apollo asteroids that make up the majority of asteroids that cross Earth’s orbit. These asteroids—the ones that are more than 0.6 miles (1 km) across---are potentially hazardous as a collision with Earth would be deadly. But luckily, Earth seems to be safe from any of these truly deadly asteroids for the next 1,000 years.
According to an online map, the asteroid’s location at the time of this article’s publication was in the constellation of Auriga—about 241,996 miles (389,456 kilometers) from Earth.
Auriga neighbors Gemini and Taurus and is visible in the northern hemisphere during the winter months. This charioteer is often depicted holding a female goat with her kits as well as the reins of a chariot. In finding Auriga, using the constellation Orion as a guide can be helpful—above Orion is Taurus and above that is a shape of stars that look like a pentagons which is actually Auriga.