* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Asteroid 2014 RC

Blobrana · L

A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to Earth on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. At the time of closest approach, based on current calculations to be about 2:18 p.m. EDT (11:18 a.m. PDT / 18:18 UTC), the asteroid will be roughly over New Zealand. From its reflected brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about 20 metres in size.
At the time of closest approach, 2014 RC will be approximately one-tenth the distance from the center of Earth to the moon, or about 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers). The asteroid's apparent magnitude at that time will be about 11.5, rendering it unobservable to the unaided eye. However, amateur astronomers with small telescopes might glimpse the fast-moving appearance of this near-Earth asteroid.
The asteroid will pass below Earth and the geosynchronous ring of communications and weather satellites orbiting about 36,000 kilometers above our planet's surface. While this celestial object does not appear to pose any threat to Earth or satellites, its close approach creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more about asteroids.
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Blobrana · L

Orbital elements:
2014 RC                                                  Earth MOID = 0.0000 AU
Epoch 2014 Dec. 9.0 TT = JDT 2457000.5                  MPC
M  25.64740              (2000.0)            P               Q
n   0.65602492     Peri.   71.20043     +0.55538015     -0.83134078
a   1.3117644      Node   345.00893     +0.72980043     +0.49913619
e   0.3743330      Incl.    4.57338     +0.39867809     +0.24440862
P   1.50           H   26.6           G   0.15           U   6

MPEC 2014 - R26

Blobrana · L

Ephemeris

Date__(UT)__HR:MN     R.A._(ICRF/J2000.0)_DEC   Mag
 2014-Sep-02 00:00     22 20 16.32 -15 48 21.7  19.86
 2014-Sep-03 00:00     22 20 29.00 -15 54 01.7  19.47
 2014-Sep-04 00:00     22 20 51.09 -16 02 07.3  18.99
 2014-Sep-05 00:00     22 21 32.41 -16 15 21.5  18.35
 2014-Sep-06 00:00     22 23 04.21 -16 42 29.4  17.42
 2014-Sep-07 00:00     22 28 35.14 -18 15 41.5  15.70
 2014-Sep-07 01:00     22 29 08.21 -18 24 50.5  15.58
 2014-Sep-07 02:00     22 29 45.19 -18 35 02.8  15.46
 2014-Sep-07 03:00     22 30 26.82 -18 46 29.8  15.34
 2014-Sep-07 04:00     22 31 14.01 -18 59 26.1  15.20
 2014-Sep-07 05:00     22 32 07.96 -19 14 10.3  15.06
 2014-Sep-07 06:00     22 33 10.25 -19 31 06.6  14.91
 2014-Sep-07 07:00     22 34 22.96 -19 50 47.0  14.74
 2014-Sep-07 08:00     22 35 48.92 -20 13 54.5  14.57
 2014-Sep-07 09:00     22 37 32.13 -20 41 28.5  14.37
 2014-Sep-07 10:00     22 39 38.36 -21 14 53.9  14.16
 2014-Sep-07 11:00     22 42 16.35 -21 56 15.6  13.93
 2014-Sep-07 12:00     22 45 39.94 -22 48 45.6  13.67
 2014-Sep-07 13:00     22 50 12.36 -23 57 33.6  13.38
 2014-Sep-07 14:00     22 56 35.73 -25 31 30.8  13.05
 2014-Sep-07 15:00     23 06 14.96 -27 47 00.7  12.67
 2014-Sep-07 16:00     23 22 29.51 -31 17 22.8  12.22
 2014-Sep-07 17:00     23 55 11.47 -37 16 10.7  11.72
 2014-Sep-07 18:00     01 26 16.03 -47 39 49.8  11.29
 2014-Sep-07 19:00     05 55 16.18 -45 38 50.9  12.08

Blobrana · L

The 13 - 29 metre wide asteroid 2014 RC will make a close pass (0.1 lunar distances, 0.00027 AU), travelling at 10.86 km/second, to the Earth-Moon system on the 7th September 2014 @ 19:02 UT ±04:21.

The Lunar Distance (LD), the distance between Earth and the Moon, equals 384,401 km, (or 0.00256 AU).

Blobrana · L

Orbital elements:
2014 RC                                                  Earth MOID = 0.0000 AU
Epoch 2014 Dec. 9.0 TT = JDT 2457000.5                  MPC
M  25.65446              (2000.0)            P               Q
n   0.65658318     Peri.   71.20988     +0.55523468     -0.83143736
a   1.3110207      Node   345.00939     +0.72984515     +0.49899566
e   0.3738856      Incl.    4.57877     +0.39879883     +0.24436704
P   1.50           H   26.6           G   0.15           U   5

MPEC 2014 - R23