ASTEROID FLYING BY EARTH
ASTEROID FLYING BY EARTH HAS A MOON: Yesterday,
Jan. 7th, near-Earth asteroid 2016 AZ8 flew past the Earth-Moon system
only 2.8 million miles away. Astronomers at the giant Arecibo radar in
Puerto Rico pinged the space rock as it approached. Using a pulsed beam
of radio energy at 2380 MHz, they found that 2016 AZ8 has a moon:
The radar team says the
primary is nearly spherical with a diameter of 430 meters, while the
asteroid's moon is more elongated, shaped like a cigar measuring 180
meters on its long axis.
Binary asteroids are not as
rare as you might suppose. Studies show that about 15% of the near-Earth
asteroid population has a moon. In the geological past, these systems
have struck Earth, creating double impact craters such as the twin crater in Jämtland, Sweden. This story is still being updated.
Realtime Aurora Photo Galleryhttp://www.spaceweather.com/
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