LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – An asteroid predicted to be the largest to fly past Earth this year will approach the planet closest on the first full day of spring, according to NASA.

But don’t worry, because there is “no danger” of it falling to earth, assures the space agency.

The asteroid, dubbed the 2001 FO32, will be within 1.25 million miles of our planet on March 21, NASA said in a statement.

While that’s roughly 5.25 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, it’s still considered close in astronomical terms. For this reason, the space rock has been classified by NASA as a “potentially dangerous asteroid”.

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It is expected to be the largest asteroid zoomed from Earth in 2021, with a length comparable to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, EarthSky reports.

Astronomers have been tracking FO32 in 2001 since its discovery 20 years ago, according to Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“We know the 2001 FO32 orbit,” Chodas said in the press release. “There’s no chance the asteroid will get closer than 1.25 million miles to Earth.”

In fact, according to NASA, there is no danger of an asteroid colliding with the planet in the centuries to come.

The near-Earth asteroid will fly by at about 77,000 miles per hour, faster than most that hit the planet. This is due to its “sharply inclined and elongated (or eccentric) orbit around the sun,” the agency said.

This diagram shows the elongated and inclined orbit of 2001 FO32 on its orbit around the sun (white ellipse). (NASA / JPL-Caltech)

The rocky body “like a skateboarder rolling down a half pipe” will pick up speed as it navigates further into the inner system, and according to Release it will only slow down after being thrown back into space. The asteroid then swings back into the solar system and towards the sun.

All in all, it will take 2001 FO32 about 810 days, or about 27 months, to complete orbit.

However, the asteroid will not come close to Earth again in another 31 years – until 2052 – if it passes at a distance of about 1.75 million miles.

So next weekend’s approach will offer astronomers a rare opportunity to better understand it, according to NASA. Some things you will be looking at are size, brightness, and composition.

“Little is known about this object at the moment, so the very close encounter provides an excellent opportunity to learn a lot about this asteroid,” said Lance Benner, senior scientist at JPL, in the press release.

For example, he noted that “20 years of observations have shown that approximately 15% of near-Earth asteroids comparable in size to 2001 FO32 have a small moon.”

The asteroid will appear brightest in the southern sky as it approaches, meaning those in the southern hemisphere and the lower parts of the northern hemisphere have the best views, according to Chodas.

But it won’t be visible to the naked eye.

To see the asteroid, Chodas recommends using a medium-sized telescope with an aperture of at least 20 inches on the nights before March 21. But those trying to see it will likely still need starting cards to find it.

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To celebrate Earth Day 2021, California’s high-speed rail authority announced that contractors will only need to use zero-emission vehicles for their project fleets in all future construction contracts.

“Bullet trains will be California’s fastest zero-emission vehicles with the highest capacity,” said Brian Kelly, chief executive officer of the agency. “As rail construction continues to grow, we need to further reduce our emissions. That’s why we’re looking for new ways to make our building practices even more environmentally friendly. “

At the 35 active construction sites that span 119 miles in the Central Valley, the agency requires contractors’ fleets to be newer, more fuel-efficient model years. As ZEV technology improves and more options become available, the agency will now require 100% ZEV for such fleets in future infrastructure construction contracts.

“This project delivers a sustainable future for transportation,” said Margaret Cederoth, director of sustainability and planning for the agency. “Our policy is not to have net greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant criteria in construction. To help us do that, we want to leverage the ZEV market that California is driving.”

This implementation strategy will bring harmful emissions closer to zero and will keep harmful particulates out of the air in communities with poor air quality and high asthma rates, such as many near the Central Valley high-speed rail project.

In addition, the guideline uses the scope of the project to create innovations in off-road construction machinery, where it is more difficult to develop parameters in order not to cause emissions.

The agency already stipulates that all such devices must meet the highest emissions standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Tier 4). This policy has significantly reduced project emissions and removed 172,000 pounds of potential air pollution to date.

This implementation strategy will go further and stipulate that by 2030, as far as possible, 10% of the off-road equipment at the beginning of a contract should be ZEV and not just Tier 4.

In addition, the goal of 100% ZEV for such devices is set by 2035, if this is feasible.

This is the latest step the agency is taking to ensure that California’s high-speed rail line is the greenest infrastructure project in operation and under construction.

The agency has recorded or avoided more than 180,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from planting more than 6,000 trees and other forest projects.

The project also prevented more than 180,000 tons of construction materials from being landfilled, with a 97% recycling rate for construction waste.

In December, the agency received national recognition for its sustainability efforts with the Envision Platinum rating.

The Envision Platinum Rating is the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s highest award and the first time a program of the size and complexity of this project has received such an award.

The agency is responsible for planning, designing and building a 100% renewable high-speed train between San Francisco and Los Angeles and Anaheim via the Central Valley.

With the system capable of speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour, the journey between San Francisco and Los Angeles takes less than three hours.

Find out about the construction progress at www.buildhsr.comExternal and for more information on sustainability practices that were already carried out during the visit to the agency www.hsr.ca.gov/sustainability.

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