Florence fly by- can it be seen with a junky telescope?

[Pippers]

Florence: Largest asteroid in century to safely fly by Earth

I’ve got a cheapo telescope from years ago, its packed in my crap somewhere. Would it be worth my time to dig it out? What will I be able to view?

[watchwolf49]

@Pippers

Florence: Largest asteroid in century to safely fly by Earth

I’ve got a cheapo telescope from years ago, its packed in my crap somewhere. Would it be worth my time to dig it out? What will I be able to view?

From the Sky and Telescope website “Asteroid Florence Pays Earth a Visit” – Aug 30th, 2017:

That’s why I’ve got some great news. Florence shines at peak magnitude of 8.7 tonight (August 30th) and remains brighter than magnitude 10 through September 5th. That means that even with a semi-bright Moon in the sky, some of you will be able to pick it up in binoculars, and anyone with a 4-inch or larger telescope should kill it.

Emphasis theirs

[Pippers]

Score! I’m digging it out. Thanks