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An asteroid discovered by Chinese astronomers will pass close to Earth next week, without posing a threat to the planet, sources at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Purple Mountain Observatory said Thursday.
The asteroid was first identified by the observatory on 6 November. Observation stations in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Italy and the United Kingdom have been keeping an eye on it ever since, confirming its existence and determining its orbit. On Sunday the Minor Planet Center under the International Astronomical Union confirmed the discovery of an asteroid and designated it 2020 VA1.
The closest distance from the sun to the newly discovered object is about 145 million km. According to the observatory, the asteroid is heading towards Earth and is expected to fly over at 08:08 Beijing time on November 20.
Zhao Haibin, an astronomer at the observatory, said the asteroid is expected to approach at a distance of 4.48 million km from the Earth’s surface, or about 11.7 times the distance between Earth and the moon.
“Given the huge distance, the asteroid will not pose a threat to Earth,” Zhao said.
The Chinese observatory’s Near-Earth Object Telescope allows China to carry out long-term asteroid monitoring and warning tasks, qualifying the country to join the international asteroid warning network.
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