Story Created:
Nov 7, 2011 at 10:29 PM MST
Story Updated:
Nov 8, 2011 at 8:52 AM MST
Grand Junction- A huge asteroid will pass closer to Earth than the moon on Tuesday, giving scientists a rare chance for study without having to go through the time and expense of launching a probe, officials said. Earth's close encounter with asteroid 2005 YU 55 will occur at 5:28 PM in St. Louis on Tuesday, as the space rock sails about 201,000 miles (323,469 km) from the planet.
The orbit and position of the asteroid, is about 1,312 feet (400 meters) in diameter, but research scientist Lance Benner, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, says it poses no threat to the Earth.
"2005 YU 55 cannot hit earth, at least not over the interval that we can compute the motion reliably, which extends for several hundred years," Benner said.
Thousands of amateur and professional astronomers are expected to track YU 55's approach, which will be visible from the planet's northern hemisphere. It will be too dim to be seen with the naked eye, however, and it will be moving too fast for viewing by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Scientists suspect YU 55 has been visiting Earth for thousands of years, but because gravitational tugs from the planets occasionally tweak its path, they cannot tell for sure how long the asteroid has been in its present orbit.
Computer models showing the asteroid's path for the next 100 years show there is no chance it will hit Earth during that time.
Previous studies show the asteroid, which is blacker than charcoal, is what is called a C-type asteroid that is likely made of carbon-based materials and some silicate rock.
More information about its composition and structure are expected from radar images and chemical studies of its light as the asteroid passes by the planet.
NASA is working on a mission to return soil samples from an asteroid known as 1999 RQ36 in 2020, followed by a human mission to another asteroid in the mid-2020s.
Japan also plans to launch an asteroid sample return mission in 2018.
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JMad said on Friday, Nov 11 at 8:26 AM
Good work. Thanks for doing the story. Nice reminder the solar system is unfinished business and still growing after all these years. That rock was big and a potential "game changer" for us humans for sure! Sharing your story with everyone I know.
Concerned Citizen said on Tuesday, Nov 8 at 8:35 AM
Was that a scene from 'Deep Impact' at the end, or did that really happen?
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