NASAs Deep Space Network tracked one of the most elongated asteroids ever imaged by planetary radar. See the image listed below for the actual planetary radar observations of asteroid 2011 AG5.
With dimensions similar to the Empire State Building, 2011 AG5 is one of the most elongated asteroids to be observed by planetary radar to date. The Goldstone radar observations took location from January 29 to February 4, recording numerous other information: Along with a big, broad concavity in one of the asteroids 2 hemispheres, 2011 AG5 has subtle dark and lighter areas that might suggest small surface features a few lots meters across.
” Of the 1,040 near-Earth things observed by planetary radar to date, this is among the most extended weve seen,” stated Lance Benner, principal scientist at JPL who helped lead the observations.
This collage reveals 6 planetary radar observations of 2011 AG5 a day after the asteroid made its close approach to Earth on February 3. With dimensions comparable to the Empire State Building, 2011 AG5 is one of the most elongated asteroids to be observed by planetary radar to date. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Goldstone radar observations took location from January 29 to February 4, catching several other details: Along with a big, broad concavity in among the asteroids 2 hemispheres, 2011 AG5 has subtle dark and lighter areas that may show small-scale surface features a few dozen meters throughout. And if the asteroid were viewed by the human eye, it would appear as dark as charcoal. The observations likewise verified 2011 AG5 has a slow rotation rate, taking nine hours to totally rotate.
Beyond adding to a much better understanding of what this things appears like up close, the Goldstone radar observations provide an essential measurement of the asteroids orbit around the Sun. Radar supplies precise distance measurements that can help researchers at NASAs Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) fine-tune the asteroids orbital path. Asteroid 2011 AG5 orbits the Sun once every 621 days and will not have a really close encounter with Earth till 2040, when it will safely pass our world at a range of about 670,000 miles (1.1 million kilometers, or nearly three times the Earth-Moon distance).
” Interestingly, quickly after its discovery, 2011 AG5 became a poster-child asteroid when our analysis revealed it had a small chance of a future impact,” said Paul Chodas, the director for CNEOS at JPL. “Continued observations of this things dismissed any chance of impact, and these new ranging measurements by the planetary radar group will further refine exactly where it will be far into the future.”
CNEOS calculates every known near-Earth asteroid orbit to offer assessments of potential effect dangers. Both the Goldstone Solar System Radar Group and CNEOS are supported by NASAs Near-Earth Object Observations Program within the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at the firms headquarters in Washington. The Deep Space Network gets programmatic oversight from Space Communications and Navigation program office within the Space Operations Mission Directorate, likewise at the agencys head office.
NASAs Deep Space Network tracked one of the most lengthened asteroids ever imaged by planetary radar. This is an artists illustration. See the image listed below for the real planetary radar observations of asteroid 2011 AG5.
One of the most lengthened asteroids ever imaged by planetary radar was closely tracked by NASAs Deep Space Network.
An elongate asteroid, more than three times as long as it is wide, safely flew previous Earth on February 3 at a distance of about 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers, or a little under five times the distance between the Moon and Earth). While there was no risk of the asteroid– called 2011 AG5– affecting our planet, researchers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California carefully tracked the things, making indispensable observations to assist determine its size, rotation, surface area details, and, most especially, shape.
This close method offered the first opportunity to take an in-depth look at the asteroid considering that it was discovered in 2011, exposing a things about 1,600 feet (500 meters) long and about 500 feet (150 meters) broad– measurements similar to the Empire State Building. The powerful 230-foot (70-meter) Goldstone Solar System Radar antenna dish at the Deep Space Networks center near Barstow, California, revealed the dimensions of this extremely lengthened asteroid.