Transit of minor planets

Transits should be distinguished from occultations, in which the minor planet entirely blocks out the light from the other body.

From the perspective of Earth, the only types of asteroids that can transit the Sun are those with orbits that take them between the two bodies.

At a distance of 0.53 AU (79,000,000 km) from Earth, its angular diameter was only 0.007 seconds of arc, far too small to see.

In theory, if a transit took place during a very close approach by a near-Earth asteroid, it might be observable.

However, such events would be extremely rare since only a few catalogued minor planets, such as 2004 FH, have come closer to Earth than the distance of the Moon.