ASTEROID WITH OWN MOON TO PASS BY

An oddly shaped asteroid, about a mile wide and with its own orbiting moon, will make a relatively close — 3,219,955 miles — pass of Earth on Saturday, but viewing the celestial event with the naked eye will not be possible. Professional and amateur astronomers may, however, catch a glimpse of asteroid 1999 KW4 with the use of powerful telescopes and lenses.

During the Saturday approach, the asteroid will be a “very safe” distance from our planet, about 13.5 times the distance of the Earth and its moon, according to reporting by Eddie Irizarry, a NASA solar system ambassador, on EarthSky.org.

The asteroid’s orbit brings it between the orbits of Venus and Earth, according to Irizarry. — Kieran Nicholson,