Categories: Asteroids

Live Webcast as Keck Telescope Attempts Images of Asteroid 2005 YU55

The Keck telescopes, located atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Credit: W.M. Keck Observatory

Astronomers from the Keck Telescope in Hawaii will be trying to observe Asteroid 2005 YU55 as it flies away from Earth. A live webcast from Keck starts about the same time this article is being published, starting no later than 9 pm U.S. PST on Nov. 8, or Midnight EST/ 0500 UT on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Indications are the webcast might start a little late because of fog on Mauna Kea.

Their hope is to get infrared images and perhaps a three-dimensional view of the asteroid with one of the world’s largest optical/infrared telescopes. The observing run is being webcast live on UStream from the Keck II Remote Operations room in Kamuela, Hawaii. They also are hoping to be able to look for moons around the asteroid. About 20% of asteroids have “moons” orbiting them.

At the helm of the 10-meter Keck II telescope and using Keck’s pioneering adaptive optics to view YU55 will be asteroid investigators William Merline and Peter Tamblyn of Southwest Research Institute, in Boulder, Colorado, and Chris Neyman of Keck Observatory.

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/