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NASA Scientists Get First Images of Earth Flyby Asteroid
January 25, 2008
Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have
obtained the first images of asteroid 2007
TU24 using high-resolution radar data.
Thedata indicate the asteroid is somewhat
asymmetrical in shape,with a diameter
roughly 250 meters (800 feet) in size.
Asteroid 2007 TU24will 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).
"With these first radar observations finished,
we can guarantee that next week's
1.4-lunar-distance approach is the closest
until at least the end of the next century,"
said Steve Ostro, JPL astronomer
andprincipal investigator for the project.
"It is also the asteroid's closest Earth
approach for more than 2,000years."
Scientists at NASA's Near-Earth
ObjectProgram Office at JPL have
determined that there is no possibility ofan
impact with Earth in the foreseeable future.
Asteroid 2007 TU24 was discovered by the
NASA-sponsored Catalina SkySurvey on
Oct. 11, 2007. The first radar detection of
the asteroid was acquired on Jan. 23 using
the Goldstone 70-meter (230-foot) antenna.
The Goldstone antennais part of NASA's
Deep Space Network Goldstone station in
Southern California's MojaveDesert.
Goldstone's 70-meter diameter (230-foot)
antenna is capable of tracking a
spacecrafttraveling more than 16 billion kilometers (10 billion miles)
fromEarth. The surface of the 70-meter reflector must remain
accuratewithin a fraction of the signal wavelength, meaning that the
precision across the 3,850-square-meter (41,400-square-foot) surface is
maintained within one centimeter (0.4 inch).
Ostro and his team plan further radar observations of asteroid 2007 TU24
usingthe National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto
Rico on Jan. 27-28 and Feb. 1-4.
The asteroid will reach an approximate apparent magnitude 10.3on Jan.
29-30 before quickly becoming fainter as it moves farther fromEarth.
On that night, the asteroid will be observable in dark andclear skies
through amateur telescopes with apertures of at least 7.6centimeters
(three inches). An object with a magnitude of 10.3 is about50 times
fainter than an object just visible to the naked eye in aclear, dark sky.
Scientists working with Ostro on the project include Lance Benner and Jon
Giorgini ofJPL, Mike Nolan of the Arecibo Observatory, and Greg
Black of the University of Virginia.
NASA detects and tracks asteroids and comets passing close to
Earth.The Near Earth Object Observation Program, commonly
called"Spaceguard," discovers, characterizes and computes trajectories
forthese objects to determine if any could be potentially hazardous
toour planet. The Arecibo Observatory is part of the National
Astronomyand Ionosphere Center, a national research center operated
by Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., for the National Science Foundation.
JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
For more information, visit http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov
Media contact: Contact:
DC Agle 818-393-9011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
agle [bat] jpl.nasa.gov
Grey Hautaluoma 202-358-0668
Headquarters, Washington
grey.hautaluoma-1 [bat] nasa.gov
2008-014
Site
Manager:
Webmasters:
Susan Watanabe
Tony Greicius, Martin
Perez
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