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Close Enough: New Images of Near Earth Asteroid
By Diana Jong
SPACE.com Staff Writer
posted: 04:07 pm ET
04 September 2002
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EMBARGOED FOR Astronomers have released new images of an asteroid that made its closest pass of Earth last month. The object made headlines this summer as having a small chance of striking Earth in the future, but NASA and other scientists have eliminated this possibility. On the morning of August 18, the asteroid passed within about 326,000 miles (524,000 kilometers) of Earth, or 1.3 times the distance to the moon. It was traveling at over 40,000 mph (65,000 kph) and appeared to cover an area of the sky equal to the full moon in 6 minutes. The data show the asteroid, designated 2002 NY40, measures a quarter mile (400 meters) across. Based on previous observations, it actually may be highly elongated and tumbling as it's traveling through space. Knowing the size of an asteroid is important because it helps astronomers understand how the object formed and its possible threat to Earth. While the asteroid was 466,000 miles away, the international team of astronomers imaged it using used the William Herschel Telescope in La Palma, Canary Islands. The telescope was fitted with a new adaptive optics system designed by the University of Durham and the Astronomy Technology Centre, both in the UK. The system uses fast-moving mirrors to correct for the blurring effects of the atmosphere, which may result in images as sharp as those taken from space. Astronomers in New Mexico first discovered asteroid 2002 NY40 in July of this year. Near Earth objects such as asteroids and comets periodically cross the Earth's orbital path but rarely pose a threat to the planet. Collisions were more common millions of years ago when the solar system was more crowded with debris. Many scientists believe that the impact of an asteroid 6 miles (10 kilometers) across caused dinosaurs to go extinct 65 million years ago. Astronotes
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