Near Enough

asteroid 2007 tu24It’s not going to be naked-eye visible, but give a thought tonight to the 250 metre asteroid (2007 tu24) that is going to swing by close to earth tonight! Or, if you have a “modest” telescope, go and look at it. It’s going to scrape by at 1.4 times the distance of the moon. That’s pretty close, by astronomical standards, and gives scientists a chance to see a near earth object rather more closely than usual. From the NEO (Near Earth Object)-JPL release:

…the asteroid is somewhat asymmetrical in shape, with a diameter roughly 250 meters (800 feet) in size. Asteroid 2007 TU24 will pass within 1.4 lunar distances, or 538,000 kilometers (334,000 miles), of Earth on Jan. 29 at 12:33 a.m. Pacific time (3:33 a.m. Eastern time).

You can get more information (including viewing tips) from the NEO site.

-cvj

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3 Responses to Near Enough

  1. George says:

    im blind

  2. Clifford says:

    Wow! Impressive eyes. I’d heard that it was much dimmer than that! Glad you saw it…

    -cvj

  3. Lee says:

    We saw it with our naked eyes in the early morning up until sunrise.