Early Thursday morning, an asteroid passing in front of the brightest star in a constellation will result in a rare space event that can be seen from Earth.
Asteroid 163 Erigone will pass directly in front of the constellation Leo's brightest star, Regulus, around 2:06 a.m. Thursday morning, Discovery News reported.
Such events are called occultations, and while they happen frequently, Erigone's pass will be unusual since it will be visible with the naked eye. The asteroid will be more than 110 million miles from Earth at the time, according to Discovery News.
Viewers will need a telescope of at least 5.9 inches in diameter to spot the actual asteroid, but they will be able to see when Regulus is briefly blotted out without any equipment.
NASA has said the space event will be the most visible of its kind ever to be seen over North America.
The asteroid's passing will first be on view from the mid-Atlantic around 1:53 a.m. ET and then visible from Long Island, New Jersey and New York around 2:06 a.m. EDT.
Measuring about 45 miles across, the asteroid will cast a shadow across the Earth measuring around 75 miles wide as it passes over Lake Ontario, the Canadian cities of Toronto and Ottawa and to Hudson Bay. The shadow will be gone around 2:22 a.m. EDT.
Regulus was occulted in 1959 by Venus, an event that won't occur again until 2044, according to Discovery News.
Anyone who times the asteroid event, measuring how long it blocks the bright star, can send data to the International Occultation Timing Association, which will compile the information to learn more about the asteroid's shape and size.
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