Asteroid 433 Eros will pass close to Earth, and you can watch it live

Many events occur in space, allowing scientists and astronomers to observe them in different ways. But tonight, an asteroid that has been known for over a century and has greatly contributed to our understanding of the universe will pass close to Earth, and you will be able to observe it live.

433 Eros may not mean anything to you, but it is a very important asteroid for scientists. Discovered in 1898 by Auguste Charlois and Carl Gustav Witt and measuring 16,89 km in diameter, this celestial object has been studied for a long time. In 2001, NASA’s NEAR Shoemaker mission allowed a probe to orbit and land on this asteroid for the first time in order to study it. And that's not all, because more than 160,000 images were taken, revealing a surface dotted with craters.

Since then, numerous studies have been conducted on this celestial object resembling a peanut, and it also serves as a reference for new discoveries in order to understand the behavior of various asteroids, such as 3I/ATLAS. And tonight, it will pass about 60 million kilometers from Earth, which is small compared to the size of the universe, and you can watch this event live.

A live broadcast will be available starting at 20:00 UTC, and you will be able to see a white dot moving next to the Andromeda galaxy, located 2.5 million light-years from Earth. But if you want to see it with your own eyes, you can use an amateur telescope or binoculars and look towards the neighboring galaxy, Messier 31. However, you will need a clear sky and a low light pollution.