Asteroids

Newly-Discovered Asteroid 2012 BX34 Makes A Close Flyby Past Earth Today

January 27, 2012

Named 2012 BX34, this 14 meter space rock will skim Earth less than 60,000 km (37,000 miles, .0004 AU), at around 15:30 UTC, (10:30 am EST) according to the Minor Planet Center. The latest estimates have this small bus-sized asteroid it traveling at about about 8,900 meters/second (about 20,000 miles per hour). 2012 BX34 has been observed by the Catalina Sky Survey and the Mt. Lemmon Survey in Arizona, and the Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico, so its orbit is well defined and there is no risk of impact to Earth. Advanced amateur astronomers might be able to...

NASA Releases First Movie Of Asteroid 2005 YU55

November 9, 2011

By Michael Muracco

This radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55 was obtained on Nov. 7, 2011, at 11:45 a.m. PST (2:45 p.m. EST/1945 UTC), when the space rock was at 3.6 lunar distances, which is about 860,000 miles, or 1.38 million kilometers, from Earth. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Each of the six frames required 20 minutes of data collection by the Goldstone radar. At the time, 2005 YU55 was approximately 860,000 miles (1.38 million kilometers) away from Earth. Resolution is 4 meters per pixel. “The movie shows the small subset of images obtained at Goldstone on November 7 that have finished processing. By animating a sequence of radar images, we can see more surface detail than is visible otherwise,” said radar astronomer Lance Benner, the principal investigator for the 2005 YU55 observations, from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “The animation reveals a number of puzzling...

How To Spot Asteroid 2005 YU55

November 8, 2011

By Michael Muracco

“You should be able to spot the asteroid with your telescope if it has an aperture of at least 6 to 8 inches,” Alan MacRobert of Sky & Telescope magazine said in a statement. 2005 YU55 will move quickly, covering about 70 degrees of sky in just 10 hours or so, according to Sky & Telescope. (Your clenched fist held at arm’s length measures about 10 degrees.) It will also be relatively dim, so skywatchers will probably need some help to find the space rock. But help is out there. The asteroid’s coordinates at any given time can...

NASA’s Latest Image of Asteroid 2005 YU55

November 7, 2011

By Michael Muracco

NASA’s Latest Image of Asteroid 2005 YU55

NASA’s Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, California has captured new radar images of Asteroid 2005 YU55 as it begins its close pass by Earth. The image above was taken on Nov. 7 at 11:45 a.m. PST (2:45 p.m. EST/1945 UTC), when the asteroid was approximately 1.38 million kilometers (860,000 miles) or about 3.6 lunar distances away from Earth. It’s not a great image, but there should be better images available as the asteroid gets closer. Several telescopes will be tracking of the aircraft carrier-sized asteroid throughout the pass. Goldstone’s 230-foot-wide (70-meter) antenna has been keeping an eye on...

New NASA Update On Asteroid 2005 YU55

November 4, 2011

By Michael Muracco

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NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory released this video today featuring more information about the much-discussed 2005 YU55, a 400-meter-wide asteroid that will pass by Earth next Tuesday at a distance closer than the Moon. The video features research scientist Lance Benner, an expert in radio imaging of near-Earth objects. “2005 YU55 cannot hit Earth, at least over the interval that we can compute the motion reliably, which extends for several hundred years.” – Lance Benner, JPL Research Scientist While we can’t state enough that there’s no danger from YU55, this close pass will offer a fantastic opportunity for scientists to...

Asteroid 2005 YU55 Makes A close Pass To Earth November 8th

November 4, 2011

By Michael Muracco

This animation shows the trajectory of asteroid 2005 YU55 as it cruises past Earth on the night of November 8-9, 2011. NASA / JPL

On November 8th at 23:28 Universal Time (6:28 p.m. EST), asteroid 2005 YU55 will come within 198,000 miles (319,000 km) of Earth. Discovered by Robert McMillan at Steward Observatory’s Spacewatch Telescope in Arizona, 2005 YU55 has passed by our planet before. In April 2010, it ventured close enough for detailed radar probing by the giant radio dish at Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It also approached even closer in 1976, though it went by undetected. Asteroid 2005 YU55 is about 1/4 of a mile across, roughly the size of an aircraft carrier. Were it to strike Earth, 2005 YU55 would deliver a kinetic-energy punch equivalent...

New View From Dawn Spacecraft Shows Mountain On Vesta Three times Taller Than Mt. Everest

October 11, 2011

By Michael Muracco

A new image from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft shows a mountain three times as high as Mt. Everest, amidst the topography in the south polar region of the giant asteroid Vesta. The peak of Vesta’s south pole mountain, seen in the center of the image, rises about 13 miles (22 kilometers) above the average height of the surrounding terrain. Another impressive structure is a large scarp, a cliff with a steep slope, on the right side of this image. The scarp bounds part of the south polar depression, and the Dawn team’s scientists believe features around its base are probably...

New Video: The Spacecraft Dawn Flies Around Asteroid Vesta

September 17, 2011

By Michael Muracco

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on Aug. 26, 2011. The detail in this image shows impacts of all sizes, grooves, scarps and smooth areas. This image was taken through the camera’s clear filter. The image has a resolution of about 260 meters per pixel.

A new video from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft takes us on a flyover above the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta. The data obtained by Dawn’s framing camera will help scientists determine the processes that formed Vesta’s striking features. It will also help Dawn mission fans all over the world visualize this mysterious world, which is the second most massive object in the main asteroid belt. You’ll notice in the video that Vesta is not entirely lit up. There is no light in the high northern latitudes because, like Earth, Vesta has seasons. Currently it is northern winter on Vesta,...

NASA’S Dawn Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Asteroid Vesta

July 18, 2011

By Michael Muracco

Enhanced Image of Vesta Captured by Dawn on July 9, 2011 NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around Vesta on July 16, 2011. Dawn obtained the raw image of Vesta with its framing camera on July 9, 2011 - which has been enhanced and annotated here. It was taken from a distance of about 26,000 miles (41,000 kilometers) away from the protoplanet Vesta. Each pixel in the image corresponds to roughly 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers). A massive ancient cosmic collision blasted away Vesta’s south pole - exposing deep and alluring secrets.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on Saturday became the first probe ever to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Dawn will study the asteroid, named Vesta, for a year before departing for a second destination, a dwarf planet named Ceres, in July 2012. Observations will provide unprecedented data to help scientists understand the earliest chapter of our solar system. The data also will help pave the way for future human space missions. “Today, we celebrate an incredible exploration milestone as a spacecraft enters orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt for...

Asteroid 2009 DD45 Barely Misses Earth June 1, 2011

June 3, 2011

By Michael Muracco

An asteroid the size of a truck zoomed near Earth this week (June 1), coming closer to us than the moon ever does. The 23-foot-long (7-meter) space rock, named 2009 BD, came within 215,000 miles (346,000 kilometers) of Earth at around 8:51 p.m. EDT (0051 GMT on June 2). The moon's average distance from us is about 239,000 miles (385,000 km).

Stephen Hawking believes that one of the major factors in the possible scarcity of intelligent life in our galaxy is the high probability of an asteroid or comet (image left) colliding with inhabited planets.Supporting Hawking’s theory, the Earth has had a near miss this week when a huge asteroid whizzed past on Monday, less than 50,000 miles away. The asteroid – about the size of a 10-storey building – flew past the Earth at roughly twice the distance of the highest Earth-orbiting satellites, according to website space.com. It is similar in size to a rock that exploded above Siberia...