Asteroid 2002 NY40
Explanation:
Asteroid 2002 NY40 will fly by planet Earth
early in the morning August 18 Universal Time (late in the evening
August 17 Eastern Daylight Time).
Approaching
to within about 530,000 kilometers or 1.3 times the
Earth-Moon distance
2002
NY40 will definitely not be close enough
to pose any danger of collision.
But it will be close enough and just bright enough for experienced
skygazers to see this 800 meter wide
space rock in a small telescope or
binoculars as it glides quickly
through northern skies past the
bright star Vega.
It will also be close enough to
ping with radar,
and asteroid hunters
using the large
Arecibo radio telescope
in Puerto Rico expect to
determine the three dimensional outline of 2002 NY40.
Similar investigations of
other near Earth asteroids have revealed some
surprising shapes.
In this five minute time exposure, recorded at
Cerro Tololo
Inter-American Observatory
on August 14, 2002 NY40 shows itself as a long smudge as it moves
against a background of faint stars in the
constellation Aquarius.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
