Explorers of outer space antenna network owned by the United States Space Agency (NASA) in Goldstone, California captures the latest radar picture of asteroid 2005 YU55 soon passing near Earth.
In its website, NASA said the asteroid will fly past our planet in the distance a little closer than the orbit of the Moon, on November 8, 2011. However, NASA assured, the comet will not harm the Earth.
Two images are captured NASA’s comet on Monday, November 7, 2011, at around 11:45 local time, when the asteroid is 1.38 million kilometers from Earth. NASA tracks asteroids captured antenna for the aircraft carrier.
Meanwhile, radar observations to be conducted Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico. will begin on 8 November, the same day when the asteroid makes the distance closest to the Earth, in the afternoon at 15:28 local time. “Panorama of asteroid 2005 YU55 has been well understood,” NASA said in a statement.
At the closest point, it will be within 324,600 miles as measured from the center of the Earth, or about 0.85 times the distance from the moon to Earth. The influence of gravity of the asteroid will be detected on Earth, including tidal and tectonic plates. Trajectory in 2011 this was the closest in the last 200 years.
NASA to detect, track and characterize asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using ground-based telescopes. Near Earth Object Observation Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California or the fame with the nickname “Spaceguard” to find objects that are within close proximity to the Earth. Then, will learn its characteristics, and determined whether potentially hazardous to our planet.
photo Asteroid YU55
— joe andrey