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Animation of Asteroid's Close Brush with Earth
posted: 09:47 am ET
19 March 2004
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While of course it shows how fast was the object (we grabbed 1 image every ~31 seconds), it also dispays nice brightness variations, due to its fast rotation Most skywatchers didn't stand much of a chance to see asteroid 2004 FH as it passed closer to Earth Thursday than any on record. But seasoned astronomers in many parts of the world worked to record the event. This series of images was collected by Gianluca Masi and Franco Mallia. Masi, of the Campo Catino Astronomical Observatory, told SPACE.com the variations in brightness in the image are due to the asteroid's fast rotation about its axis. 
May load slowly. Used with permission.
Credit: G. Masi and F. Mallia, SoTIE telescope
The astronomers used the 14-inch (35.28-centimeter) SoTIE telescope in Las Campanas, Chile, as part of an educational project in Italy. They snapped a frame about every 31 seconds. The asteroid, roughly 100 feet (30 meters) wide, soared to within 26,500 miles (43,000 kilometers) miles above the southern Atlantic Ocean at 5:08 p.m. EST, as predicted. That is just beyond geostationary weather satellites, which orbit at an altitude of 22,300 miles. The space rock moved quickly, crossing from one side of the Moon's orbit to the other in just 31 hours. Scientists said 2004 FH would have been visible through binoculars to observers able to locate it. -- Robert Roy Britt
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