Near-Earth Asteroid 2007 TU24 to Pass Close to Earth on Jan. 29
Source: neo.jpl.nasa.gov
Asteroid 2007 TU24, discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey on October 11, 2007 will closely approach the Earth to within 1.4 lunar distances (334,000 miles) on 2008 Jan. 29 08:33 UT. This object, between 150 and 600 meters in diameter, will reach an approximate apparent magnitude 10.3 on Jan. 29-30 before quickly becoming fainter as it moves further from Earth. For a brief time the asteroid will be observable in dark and clear skies with amateur telescopes of 3 inch apertures or larger.
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Largest asteroid to come near Earth in 22 years
As I sit in my office writing this, an 800-foot-wide chunk of rock is less than 2 million miles away and headed almost straight toward me. No need to panic, though! JPL's Goldstone Radio Telescope, usually used to communicate with satellites, has pinpointed the asteroid's location within 100 feet by radar sounding. At its closest approach, January 29th at 8:33 Universal Time, asteroid 2007 TU24 will still be a comfortable 344,000 miles from the center of Earth. That's 554,000 km, or 1.44 times the mean distance to the Moon.
More: Here Comes Asteroid 2007 TU24
Asteroid 2007 TU24, discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey on October 11, 2007 will closely approach the Earth to within 1.4 lunar distances (334,000 miles) on 2008 Jan. 29 08:33 UT. This object, between 150 and 600 meters in diameter, will reach an approximate apparent magnitude 10. 3 on Jan. 29-30 before quickly becoming fainter as it moves further from Earth. For a brief time the asteroid will be observable in dark and clear skies with amateur telescopes of 3 inch apertures or larger.
More: Near-Earth Asteroid 2007 TU24 To Pass Close To Past Earth On Jan 29
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JPL Small-Body Database Browser (2007 TU24)
TU24 asteroid - Jan 29 2008 impact?
2007 TU24 Asteroid, Jan 29 2008 - Video 2
2007 TU24 Asteroid, Jan 29 2008 - Video 2
