Asteroid near Earth 2011

: Shapes of asteroids

Asteroid near Earth

The 400-meter-wide asteroid 2005 YU55 is currently flying near Earth at over 13 km (8 miles) a second. On Tuesday, November 8, 2011, at 6:28 p.m. EST (5:28 p.m. CST; 23:28 UTC), it will pass Earth, coming within 325,000 km (202,000 miles), closer than the Moon’s orbit.

While 2005YU55 will stay a safe distance away, it is part of a crew of near-Earth asteroids. There are from 500 to 1000 near Earth asteroids, which diameter is estimated to be over 1 km .

It is the closest pass by such a large object since 1976. A similar event will not happen again until 2028. The closest recorded small asteroid to Earth during last decades is FU 162. The asteroid was discovered as it reached its closest approach to Earth on March 31, 2004. It traveled within … 6500 km of Earth’s atmosphere!

Origin of these near Earth asteroids is that asteroids are moved into the inner Solar System from asteroid belt through orbital resonances with Jupiter.

This close pass of asteroid near Earth will offer a great opportunity to get detailed radar imaging of YU55. It is part of the C-class of asteroids – very dark, like the colour of charcoal, and quite porous.

Asteroid 2005 YU55 was discovered in 2005 and orbits the sun in an elliptical path that extends from inside the orbit of Venus to just outside the orbit of Mars. The asteroid completes one trip around the sun every 15 months.

How to watch 2005 YU55?

Thousands of amateur and professional astronomers will observe this object near its closest approach to Earth. However, it is moving too fast on the sky for Hubble to observe it. The asteroid will pose a challenge even for amateur astronomers because it will be so faint and quick-moving. A small telescope with a mirror no smaller than 6 inches (15 centimeters) is required to spot it. The asteroid will approach Earth from the sunward direction, so it will be a daylight object until just before the time of closest approach. It is expected to reach about mag 11.2. The asteroid will travel the 70° of sky eastward fromAquila to central Pegasus in just 10 hours, moving along at 7 arcseconds per second.

Sky map of asteroid 2005 YU55 orbit: