Near-Earth asteroid 2003 DZ15 to safely pass Earth on July 30, 2013

A 152 meter wide asteroid named 2003 DZ15 will make a somewhat close flyby past our planet next week. This asteroid is about seven times the size of Chelyabinsk meteor and it poses no threat to Earth.

At 00:37 UTC on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, it will pass Earth at a distance of nearly 3.5 million kilometers (0.0233 AU) traveling speed of 14.54 km/s. This will be its closest approach in next 50 years.

Approach of asteroid 2003 DZ15. Source: JPL NEO

2003 DZ15 is classified as Apollo class asteroid, meaning its orbit will cross the Earth's orbit, and it will be hardly visible to backyard telescopes but you can watch it online as Virtual Telescope Project will offer an online event sharing real-time images along with live commentary by their staff. 

The online event is scheduled for July 29, 2013, starting at 22:00 UTC. To watch it, visit their webTV page here. A handy tool for converting UTC time to your own is here.

Next close approach of 2003 DZ15 is on September 13, 2017 at 22:30 UTC; it will flyby at a distance of 4.2 million km.

On July 30, 2063, it will come even closer than this year. At 00:02 UTC, on that day, it will flyby Earth at distance of 0.0172 AU, which is "slightly" above 2.5 million km.

Featured image credit: Virtual Telescope