1 of 14
Keck II Telescope Image of Asteroid 2005 YU55
Credit: William Merline, SWRI/W.M. Keck Observatory
This first infrared image of asteroid 2005 YU55 was captured by the Keck II telescope.
2 of 14
New Image of Asteroid 2005 YU55
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55 was obtained on Nov. 7, 2011, at 11:45 a.m. PST (2:45 p.m. EST/1945 UTC), when the space rock was at 3.6 lunar distances, which is about 860,000 miles, or 1.38 million kilometers, from Earth.
3 of 14
Asteroid 2005 YU55 Nov. 6, 2011, Radar Image
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55 was obtained on Nov. 6, 2011, at 1:45 p.m. PST (4:45 p.m. EST/2145 UTC), when the space rock was at 6.4 lunar distances, which is about 1.5 million miles, or 2.46 million kilometers, from Earth.
4 of 14
Sky Chart for Asteroid 2005 YU55
Credit: Sky & Telescope magazine (http://SkyandTelescope.com)
This sky chart shows the motion of asteroid 2005 YU55 as it zooms by Earth on the evening of Nov. 8, 2011.
5 of 14
Huge Space Rock 2005 YU55 Sneaks Within Moon's Distance (Infographic)
Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor
Despite making an unusually close pass by the Earth, asteroid 2005 YU55 poses no threat of impact with our planet.
6 of 14
Asteroid 2005 YU55
Credit: NASA/Cornell/Arecibo
In April 2010, this radar image of the near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 was taken by the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. On Nov. 8, 2011, this large space rock zips by Earth again and will be surveyed by radar, visual and infrared equipment.
7 of 14
Trajectory of Asteroid 2005 YU55
Credit: JPL
This still from a NASA animation by Jon Giorgini of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the trajectory of asteroid 2005 YU55 as it passes between Earth and the moon on Nov. 8, 2011.
8 of 14
Asteroid 2005 YU55's Discoverer
Credit: Ron Mastaler/Arizona Radio Observatory
Astronomer Robert McMillan, discoverer of asteroid 2005 YU55, sits in the SPACEWATCH control room on Kitt Peak.
9 of 14
70-meter Goldstone Antenna
Credit: NASA
NASA's 70-meter Goldstone antenna located near Barstow, Calif. The antenna can be used as a radar tool to study near-Earth asteroids during close flybys.
10 of 14
Asteroid 2005 YU55's Discoverer at Bok Telescope
Credit: Dave Harvey/Steward Observatory
Astronomer Robert McMillan, discoverer of asteroid 2005 YU55, observing with an experimental instrument unrelated to his asteroid work in 2007, in the dome of the Steward Observatory's 2.3-meter Bok Telescope on Kitt Peak.
11 of 14
Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico
Credit: Arecibo Observatory/NSF
Astronomers use the huge Arecibo Observatory, a radio telescope in Puerto Rico, to study the close flyby of Earth by asteroids.
12 of 14
Green Bank Telescope
Credit: NRAO
The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, the largest steerable radio telescope in the world, is observing 86 planetary systems that may contain Earth-like planets in hopes of detecting signals from intelligent civilizations
13 of 14
Brian Warner, Palmer Divide Observatory
Credit: Brian Warner/Palmer Divide Observatory
Astronomer Brian Warner, director of the Palmer Divide Observatory, is leading a campaign of largely backyard astronomers to observe asteroid 2005 YU55 during its Nov. 8, 2011 close flyby of Earth.
14 of 14
Asteroid 2005 YU55 and Trajectory Diagram
Credit: Image: NASA/Cornell/Arecibo; Diagram: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Left: radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55 was generated from data taken in April 2010 by the Arecibo Radar Telescope in Puerto Rico. Right: diagram of the trajectory for asteroid 2005 YU55 — November 8-9, 2011
