An exceptionally close asteroid approach – asteroid GW4

On the International Day of Human Space Flight, the newly discovered small asteroid 2021 GW4 will pass closer to the Earth than our geosynchronous satellites!🛰️ It will reach a minimum distance of around 20,000 km. In comparison, geosynchronous satellites are 36,000 km above the Earth’s surface.

2021 GW4 was discovered on the night of April 8–9, 2021, by Mount Lemmon Survey, and its diameter is estimated as 4–8 meters. The asteroid belongs to the Apollo group – near-Earth asteroids with Earth-crossing orbits.🌍

2021 GW4 will reach the maximum brightness on April 12, at around 12:30 GMT. It’s expected to have a visual magnitude of 13.5.✨

Observe the asteroid with the help of Star Walk 2. Open the app, tap the magnifier icon in the lower-left corner of your screen, and type “2021 GW4".