Using data from NASA’s Hubble and Webb space telescopes, astronomers and artists modeled the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16 or M16) in three dimensions, creating a movie that allows viewers to fly past and among the pillars.
In a few weeks, skygazers will be able to see asteroid “2024 ON” as it swings by Earth at an astronomically close, but still safe distance, according to the Virtual Telescope Project.
Measuring at least 720 feet wide, or about the length of two football fields, the asteroid will be visible from the Northern Hemisphere.
The asteroid will zoom past Earth from just about 620,000 miles, or about 2.6 times the distance between Earth and the Moon, making its flyby from a close but safe distance. A similar close approach happens on average one time every 10 years, the Virtual Telescope Project said.
Skygazers can watch its approach starting on Sept. 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET through the Virtual Telescope live feed online here.
Asteroids are pieces of rock left over after the solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago, NASA said.