On January 26 , asteroid 2004 BL86 safely flew decently past us , pee its closest attack around 11:19 a.m. EST at a distance of about 1.2 million kilometers – that ’s only about three fourth dimension the distance between us and our lunar month . And it turns out , the asteroid has its own footling lunar month .
Asteroid 2004 BL86was come upon back in 2004 by theLincoln Near - Earth Asteroid Researchsurvey in White Sands , New Mexico . Monday ’s flyby is the end the 325 - meter - wide asteroid will descend to Earth for the next two centuries at least . Here ’s ananimationof its trajectory . This is the closest a known asteroid this size of it will go about us untilasteroid 1999 AN10flies by in 2027 . In the universe of close - Earth object , about 16 percent of asteroids 200 metre or larger are a binary or even triple system , where the principal asteroid has a smaller asteroid moonshine or two orbiting it .
Sure enough , astronomers mould with theDeep Space Networkantenna in Goldstone , California , bewitch 20 individual microwave radar images of asteroid 2004 BL86 , revealing a pocket-sized moon about 70 cadence across , according to a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratorynews release .
" When we get our radar data back the twenty-four hour period after the flyby , we will have the first detailed images,“Lance Benner of JPLin Pasadena , California , said instatement two weeks ago . " At present , we know almost nothing about the asteroid , so there are bound to be surprises . " Well , surprisal !
Radar measurement help researchers analyse the size of it , shape , rotation state , aerofoil features , and Earth’s surface crudeness of asteroids . They ’re also quite useful for improving the computation of orbits . These 20 fresh radar effigy were used to makethis picture .
" Asteroids are something special . Not only did asteroid allow for Earth with the building blocks of living and much of its water , but in the future tense , they will become valuable resources for mineral ore and other vital born resources,”saysDon Yeomans of JPL ’s Near Earth Object Program Office . “ They will also become the fuel stops for humanity as we continue to explore our solar system . There is something about asteroids that make me want to front up . "
For mass who have a scope or some strong binoculars , maximum luminousness , EarthSky reports , will occur between 11:07 p.m. and 11:52 p.m. EST on January 26 . If you ’re on the East Coast , sorry … our snow storm will make it unlikely that we ’ll see anything .
figure : NASA / JPL - Caltech
