Categories: Asteroids

Near Earth Asteroid 2010 GU21 Swoops By Earth On May 5

[/caption]

The Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) 2010 GU21 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey on April 5 2010 (MPEC 2010-G55) and has been designated as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) by the Minor Planet Center. The asteroid will pass within approximately 8 lunar distances on May 05.25 2010 UT… But why wait when we have Joe Brimacombe on our side?

2010 GU21 is photometrically surmised to be a X-type asteroid and very low-albedo… so dim, in fact, that it only manages about a magnitude 18. However, if you give Joe a magnitude 18 blip, he’ll send you back an image! Just watch how fast this crazy little thing travels….

And for heaven’s sake, don’t take the impact seriously! While eight moon distances (roughly two million miles) is darn close in astronomical terms, we’re quite safe when it comes to physical distance. But, with only a couple of million miles separating us, this would be a great time for radar targeting and studying (NEA) 2010 GU21’s rotation period. What’s more, it’s also on the list for the Delta-v for spacecraft rendezvous with all known near-Earth asteroids.

In the meantime, with only two days until 2010 GU21’s closest approach, you’d best keep up your car payments and still plan on keeping those weekend promises. It’s fun to surmise what might what might happen if it were a wee bit closer…

Or is it?

Many thanks to Joe Brimacombe for sharing his awesome video with us!

Tammy Plotner

Tammy was a professional astronomy author, President Emeritus of Warren Rupp Observatory and retired Astronomical League Executive Secretary. She’s received a vast number of astronomy achievement and observing awards, including the Great Lakes Astronomy Achievement Award, RG Wright Service Award and the first woman astronomer to achieve Comet Hunter's Gold Status. (Tammy passed away in early 2015... she will be missed)

Recent Posts

Here’s How to Weigh Gigantic Filaments of Dark Matter

How do you weigh one of the largest objects in the entire universe? Very carefully,…

30 minutes ago

How Could Astronauts Call for Help from the Moon?

Exploring the Moon poses significant risks, with its extreme environment and hazardous terrain presenting numerous…

13 hours ago

There Was a 15 Minute Warning Before Tonga Volcano Exploded

Volcanoes are not restricted to the land, there are many undersea versions. One such undersea…

13 hours ago

Main Sequence and White Dwarf Binaries are Hiding in Plain Sight

Some binary stars are unusual. They contain a main sequence star like our Sun, while…

15 hours ago

What a Misplaced Meteorite Told Us About Mars

11 million years ago, Mars was a frigid, dry, dead world, just like it is…

17 hours ago

Uranus is Getting Colder and Now We Know Why

Uranus is an oddball among the Solar System's planets. While most planets' axis of rotation…

20 hours ago