7 August 2026
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M53

Observing

See bright near-Earth asteroid 2017 VR12 pass close to star Spica, 7–8 March

4 March 2018 Ade Ashford

Possibly as large as The Shard in London, Apollo asteroid 2017 VR12 passes just 3¾ lunar distances from Earth at 7:53am GMT on 7 March. For a few nights, this magnitude +12 space rock is a viable target for small backyard telescopes as it gallops through Coma Berenices and Virgo, passing just 0.8 degrees from Spica on the UK night of 7–8 March.

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News Headlines

  • Falcon 9 lunar impact: More than a new crater
    5 August 2026
  • Euclid opens a new window on the first billion years of cosmic history
    25 July 2026
  • Caught in the act: the wind that could kill a galaxy
    10 June 2026
  • Europe’s Mars rover may land in the remains of a vast ancient water system
    4 June 2026
  • Moon dust preserves record of life’s building blocks
    14 April 2026

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