Posted on 05/10/2017 7:53:58 AM PDT by BenLurkin
2017 HX4 passed us by at a very safe distance. In fact, the asteroid’s closest approach to Earth was estimated to be at a distance of 3.7 Lunar Distances (LD) – i.e. almost four times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. This, and other pertinent information was tweeted in advance by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center (IAU MPC) on April 29th.
This object was first spotted on April 26th, 2017, using the 1.8 meter Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), located at the summit of Haleakala in Hawaii. Since that time, it has been monitored by multiple telescopes around the world, and its tracking data and information about its orbit and other characteristics has been provided by the IAU MPC.
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In the case of 2017 HX4, the object has been shown to have an orbital period of 2.37 years, following a path that takes it from beyond the orbit of Venus to well beyond the orbit of Mars. In other words, it orbits our Sun at an average distance (semi-major axis) of 1.776 AU, ranging from about 0.88 AU at perihelion to 2.669 AU at aphelion.
Since it was first spotted, the object has been viewed a total of 41 times between April 26th and May 4th.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
Well, on a galactic scale, that SOB just swerved into our lane and damn near took out our front fender...
ISS real damp inside now.
Another consequence of global warming no doubt.
“House-Sized Asteroid”
Someone is playing Zathura again!
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