Earth's close encounter with Asteroid 2005 YU 55 will occur at 6:28 p.m. EST on Tuesday, as the space rock sails about 201,000 miles from the planet. "It is the first time since 1976 that an object of this size has passed this closely to the Earth..." The orbit and position of the asteroid, which is about 1,312 feet in diameter, is well known... Thousands of amateur and professional astronomers are expected to track YU 55's approach, which will be visible from the planet's northern hemisphere. It will be too dim to be seen with the naked eye, however, and it will be moving too fast for viewing by the Hubble Space Telescope... Scientists suspect YU 55 has been visiting Earth for thousands of years, but because gravitational tugs from the planets occasionally tweak its path, they cannot tell for sure how long the asteroid has been in its present orbit.Thanks NormsRevenge.
Orbital period of 1.2yrs. We ought to put some equipment on there for a nice ride.