[MIham] Close encounter this August

[Frank N8UVI]

 Newfound Asteroid to Pass Near Earth in mid-August

 By Robert Roy Britt
 Senior Science Writer
 posted: 02:00 pm ET
 23 July 2002

 In a rare event slated for mid-August, an asteroid will pass close enough
 to Earth to be visible through binoculars and small telescopes.

 The giant boulder, named 2002 NY40, was discovered about a month ago.

 On Aug. 18, the asteroid will be 327,200 miles (526,600 kilometers) from
 Earth, according to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass. That will
 put it well beyond the Moon's orbit. The asteroid's exact size is not
 known but it is "somewhat smaller than 1 kilometer [0.62 miles] in
 diameter," said Gareth Williams, associate director of the center.

 Rough estimates by astronomers have put the asteroid at 500 meters (547
 yards) wide. A pair of Louisiana Superdomes would fit inside an object
 this size with ample room leftover for parking.

 Asteroid 2002 NY40 should brighten to about magnitude 9.3 on Aug. 18,
 Williams told SPACE.com. The faintest objects visible to the unaided eye
 are around magnitude 6.0, on a scale where larger numbers indicated
 dimmer objects. The brightest stars in the sky are typically categorized
 as zero or first magnitude.

 An asteroid becomes as bright as 2002 NY40 from our terrestrial
 vantagepoint only about once or twice a decade. However, a similar event
 occurred last December. The next time a known asteroid will appear this
 bright is in 2004.

 Two days prior to its closest approach, the asteroid will achieve a
 brightness of magnitude 12. By Aug. 19, a day after closest approach, its
 brightness will drop off dramatically, to magnitude 21.

 Asteroid 2002 NY40 presents no danger of hitting Earth on this pass
 around the Sun. However, astronomers have calculated eight close passes
 on future orbits, one of which in the year 2022 presents an extremely low
 (but not zero) probability of an impact. Experts say an object this large
 could cause regional destruction, change the world climate temporarily,
 and kill millions of people if it hit a populated area.

 Similar calculations for other asteroids have been made in the past,
 however, and typically, the odds go to zero when more observations are
 made and the numbers are refined. The chances of any asteroid as big or
 larger than 2002 NY40 hitting Earth sometime in the next century are put
 at about 1-in-400.

 Asteroid 2002 NY40 was first spotted July 14 with the 1-meter (3-foot)
 LINEAR telescope in Socorro, New Mexico. Its discovery contrasts with
 that of another asteroid, 2002 MN, which had an even closer brush with
 Earth in June but was not detected until three days later, by the same
 facility.

 Every few months, typically, an asteroid passing within the Moon's orbit
 is noticed before or shortly after it makes its closest approach to
 Earth.

 More Asteroid News:
 http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/headlines-1.html

                    =====================================

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