On 1 September 2017, at 14:05 CEST, the rocky near-Earth asteroid 3122 Florence made a relatively close approach to Earth, passing by at 7 060 160 km, or about 18.4 lunar distances. This near-Earth object does not often come so close: the asteroid had last been similarly close in 1930, and will not be really close again until 2057. While it usually passes us at a safe distance, orbital disturbances in the (distant) future could bring it closer, and the size of the object is such that it could be of future impact concern. Astro-photographer Marco Langbroek, based in Leiden, the Netherlands, obtained this image of Florence on Saturday evening. See more here: http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/09/3122_Florence
