NASA Footage Shows Near Miss Asteroid Has a Moon
It didn't hit us! Get on with the science.
NASA has released footage showing that a small asteroid that passed by Earth today has an even smaller moon.
The data, collected by NASA's Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, California, shows Asteroid 2004 BL86 at about 745,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from earth. The asteroid itself is about 1,100 feet (325 meters) wide, while its tiny moon is just 230 feet (70 meters) across. That's the same size as the radar dish that captured the images.
NASA first announced the asteroid would be making its run by Earth two weeks ago, saying there was no need to panic and that the close approach would provide a unique opportunity for study. That proved to be an accurate assessment: at the time the chunk of rock was thought to be about half a kilometer wide and no one knew it had a moon.
While BL86 is still about three times the distance from the moon to the Earth, NASA says this is the closest pass the asteroid will make for at least 200 years. It's also the closest any known object this size or larger will come to our planet until 2027, when 1999 AN10 passes by.
Image Credit: NASA
Seth is known as "New Seth" around the newsroom so we don't mistake him for Seth. Follow him on Twitter to help sorth through the confusion.
