You LT 2016, six meters wide asteroid that around 22:00 yesterday passed just 153 thousand kilometers from our planet
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It was discovered on June 4 observatory Panstarrs , on the slopes of Mount Haleakala on the island of Maui, and just three days after he touched the Earth.
it is the asteroid 2016 LT , a ball of rock of six meters, which around to 22 yesterday passed just 153 thousand km from our planet: a safe distance, then, but still close enough to be considered a close encounter.
the picture shows the trajectory of the asteroid 2016 LT (picture: minor planet center)
“ Approaches of this type are occasions precious to hone our ability to observe and study small asteroids for the purposes of monitoring , “he told ANSA Gianluca Masi , director of the Virtual Telescope . “ Being able to spot small asteroids like this demonstrates the technological level reached by the automated search programs, although sometimes some of these celestial bodies escapes the survey, revealing how important the support and development of projects of this type . “
the photo shows the asteroid in the center, while the stars in the background are on the move (image: Virtual Telescope)
to discover 2016 LT has been one of the telescopes of Panstarrs project (or Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response system), an automated system that scans the skies constantly looking for celestial bodies that could represent a danger to Earth.
the watch also comes on the eve of an important event for amateur astronomers: the Asteroid day, world day dedicated to the knowledge of these heavenly bodies, and raising awareness on the importance of programs dedicated to the protection of our planet from possible impact. The date chosen is in fact not random: June 30 is the anniversary of the greatest striding which involved an asteroid in recent times, or the impact recorded in Tugunska, in Siberia, in 1908.
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