space

Asteroid 1999 KW4 makes closest pass to Earth since 2001

A roughly mile-wide asteroid is about to give Earth a proverbial buzz-cut this weekend. The asteroid will come within .032 au of Earth. Zero-point-three-two! Holy moly! But don’t worry. An au, or Astronomical Unit, is a very large measurement. It is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Or about 93 million miles. So 0.32 of 93 million is… Read more →

2018 Perseid meteor shower

2018 Perseid meteor shower

The Perseid meteor shower started in mid-July, but will peak during the next few days, before coming to an end in late August. The Perseid meteor shower is one of the best meteor showers of the year. It forms from debris that trails the comet, 109P/Swift-Tuttle. The comet was discovered by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle back in 1862. According… Read more →