NASA readies for November asteroid flyby

An asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will make a flyby of Earth, slightly closer than the Moon's orbit on November 9 (Manila time). But the National Space and Aeronautics Administration said asteroid 2005 YU55 will not hit the Earth, and that NASA scientists are making preparations to track it. "The trajectory of asteroid 2005 YU55 is well understood. At the point of closest approach, it will be no closer than 201,700 miles (324,600 kilometers) or 0.85 the distance from the moon to Earth. The gravitational influence of the asteroid will have no detectable effect on anything here on Earth, including our planet's tides or tectonic plates," NASA said. NASA said the last time a space rock as big as 2005 YU55 came as close to Earth was in 1976, although astronomers did not know about the flyby at the time. It said the next known approach of an asteroid this large will be in 2028. For the November flyby, NASA scientists will use antennas of its Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California, to track the asteroid. According to NASA, the 400-meter asteroid is a science target of opportunity, which would let instruments on "spacecraft Earth" scan it during the close pass. It said it will track the asteroid starting at 9:30 a.m. local time (PDT) on Nov. 4, using a massive 70-meter Deep Space Network antenna, for about two hours. Goldstone will continue tracking the asteroid for at least four hours each day from Nov. 6 through Nov. 10. Radar observations from the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico will begin on Nov. 8, the same day the asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at 3:28 p.m. PST. "Although 2005 YU55 is in an orbit that regularly brings it to the vicinity of Earth (and Venus and Mars), the 2011 encounter with Earth is the closest this space rock has come for at least the last 200 years," NASA said. Radar images NASA scientists hope to obtain images of the asteroid from Goldstone as fine as about 7 feet (2 meters) per pixel. This should reveal a wealth of detail about the asteroid's surface features, shape, dimensions and other physical properties. Arecibo radar observations of asteroid 2005 YU55 made in 2010 show it to be approximately spherical in shape. It is slowly spinning, with a rotation period of about 18 hours. The asteroid's surface is darker than charcoal at optical wavelengths. "Amateur astronomers who want to get a glimpse at 2005 YU55 will need a telescope with an aperture of six inches (15 centimeters) or larger," NASA said. — LBG, GMA News