Asteroid approaches to zoom past Earth--NASA
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 16:08:00 01/29/2008
Filed Under: Aerospace, Science (general)
LOS ANGELES -- Space watchers were set for a rare treat on Tuesday after US space authorities released pictures of a huge asteroid they said would zoom past Earth within sight of amateur telescopes.
The asteroid fly-by "is the closest until at least the end of the next century," said Steve Ostro, a senior astronomer at the space agency NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, in a statement.
"It is also the asteroid's closest Earth approach for more than 2,000 years," he added, after the laboratory used high-resolution radar data to produce an image of the hulking asymmetrical object.
Roughly 250 meters in diameter, asteroid 2007 TU24 would inflict devastating regional damage were it to hit Earth, but NASA said there is no risk of a collision.
It was due to pass within 538,000 kilometers (334,000 miles) of Earth just after 0830 GMT.
"For a brief time the asteroid will be observable in dark and clear skies with amateur telescopes of three inches [7.5 centimeters] or larger," NASA said earlier.
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