Discovered on August 19, 1998, by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program near Socorro, New Mexico, asteroid 1998 QE2 is 2.75 kilometers in diameter [Dr. Lance A. M. Benner, 2013]. It has a well understood orbit that brings it near to Earth every 14 years [JPL Small-Body Database Browser].
The South African Astronomical Observatory was instrumental in this particular pass by joining a network of observatories around the world to provide photometry and photographs. Over the Sun’s Kai Staats was on-site for the evening of this exciting observation, as captured in this short film.