The huge asteroid 2005 YU55 will sweep closely past the Earth – missing us by 319,000 kilometers (about 200,000 miles) – tomorrow. It’ll be the closest known passage of an asteroid this big – but there was an even closer passage to Earth of this same asteroid in 1976, which went undetected. This time, astronomers spotted it ahead of time. Does it make you feel safer – or more vulnerable? I’m not sure how it makes me feel!
On this November 8, 2011 passage, 2005 YU55 will come closer than the moon’s distance from Earth, but it will not strike Earth or the moon.
The time of closest passage will be November 8 at 5:28 p.m. CST (23:28 UTC).
The asteroid is 1,300 feet (400 meters) wide. In contrast, the moon is 3,476 kilometers wide. That’s 3,476,000 meters for the moon’s diameter in contrast to 400 meters for YU55. That’s why you don’t need to worry about YU55 raising tides on Earth, or causing earthquakes, volcanoes or tsunamis. It’s big for an asteroid, but much much smaller than our moon.
2005 YU55 will reach a visual brightness of 11th magnitude. That’s very faint for most of us. The asteroid will be visible only to amateur or professional astronomers as it plunges past us and moves on.
How to see 2005 YU55 when it passes Earth on November 8 and 9
NASA in final preparations for large asteroid flyby November 8
Known asteroids come close pretty often. To prove it to yourself, check out this link to passages of near-Earth asteroids in November 2011, from Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Space Calendar. An “AU” is an Earth-sun distance, by the way, or about 93 million miles (150 million km).
Asteroids also come within the moon’s distance every so often, but 2005 YU55 is the biggest known asteroid to do so for about the next 17 years, until the year 2028. Still, the asteroid 2005 YU55 poses no immediate threat to Earth. Its orbit is well known to astronomers – so well known that we can rule out an impact for at least the next century.
According to NASA’s Near Earth Object Program:
Although classified as a potentially hazardous object, 2005 YU55 poses no threat of an Earth collision over at least the next 100 years. However, this will be the closest approach to date by an object this large that we know about in advance and an event of this type will not happen again until 2028 when asteroid (153814) 2001 WN5 will pass to within 0.6 lunar distances.
The animation below, from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, shows this asteroid’s sweep past Earth on November 8 and 9.
Image Credit: JPL
Click here to expand image above
In this animated diagram, Earth appears at the center, with the diagonal line representing Earth’s orbit around the sun. The moon is shown orbiting Earth, and you can see that the path of YU55 carries the asteroid inside the moon’s orbit. The imagine the scale, remember that the moon’s orbit is roughly 770,000 kilometers (475,000 miles) wide. YU55 will miss Earth by 319,000 kilometers (about 200,000 miles) – a nice safe margin.
Asteroid 2005 YU55 in April 2010. (Arecibo Radar Telescope)
Robert McMillan of the Spacewatch Program near Tucson, Arizona discovered YU55 on December 28, 2005. It appears to be a very dark, nearly spherical object.
The closest approach to Earth and the moon will be respectively 0.00217 AU and 0.00160 AU on 2011 November 8 at 23:28 UTC (5:28 p.m. CST) and November 9 at 07:13 UTC (1:13 a.m. CST).
I remember in the 1970s when astronomers were speculating that the Tunguska event in Russia in 1908 was probably caused by a small comet striking Earth. That event – in a remote part of Siberia – killed reindeer and flattened many miles of forest, but essentially did little harm. In the 1970s, the consciousness was just arising that objects in space might strike us. Astronomers began programs to watch for near-Earth asteroids, and it was inevitable that they would find some passing as closely as 2005 YU55 will on November 8.
One of the first programs to watch for near-Earth asteroids, by thew way, was Spacewatch – founded in 1980 by Robert McMillan, who discovered this asteroid 2005 YU55. Spacewatch did what it was supposed to do! It found an asteroid sweeping near us. Presumably, if an asteroid is ever headed straight for us, we’ll have some advance warning. But let me emphasize that 2005 YU55 is not a doomsday asteroid. So relax, everyone.
Bright object near moon November 7 is Jupiter, not 2005 YU55
Bottom line: The huge asteroid 2005 YU55 will sweep within the moon’s distance from Earth on November 8, 2011. Its orbit is well known to astronomers, and it will not strike Earth or the moon. 2005 YU55 is the largest asteroid ever known to sweep this closely to Earth. There is no danger. It will not raise tides, or cause earthquakes, volcanoes or tsunamis. Both amateur and professional are very curious about this close asteroid passage, which they will be watching with telescopes.
To the person who quoted a movie that wasn’t Deep Impact it was Armageddon :) just clearing that up.. stay blessed.
My two daughters and husband and I climb up on the roof of are victorian home in ct. About at 620 pm we where told that it would be coming thru between 628 pm and 648 pm so we watched for an hour and saw nothing but 3 or 4 jets going east and alot of what looked like milatary aircraft going east all of them in good timeing together but no astroid my two girl,s where sad and disaponted so if any one has good pic,s for them to see i would love for them to see it thank you in jesus name k. LeDuc GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!!
this is very scary but with the earths gravity it will pull the asteriod to earth and there will no longer be us.
[...] 2005 YU55 asteroid will sweep near Earth November 8, 2011 @ EarthSky.org [...]
I am not going to argue with you Ripley. I know what I am talking about, I am a scientist myself. I am 79 years old. I went to high school with a GPA of 3.8. I went to college for 12 years until I was 31 years old. I am in with NASA and I am in with the governement. I have been studying for one of the government’s top scares that is top secret. It appears to be a force opposing aginst earth caused by a meteor crossing the axis. According to my studies We will experience brutal events starting sometime near April 13, 2012 and causing many earthquakes causing ice caps to melt and the brut force of a eneromous object destroying about 68% of earth the rest will be destroyed in the month of December of 2012. The reason why the governemnt is going to have that test on the T.V. programs soon are because we were struck by a force that knocked off our information to poplutaion counts. the reason the governemnt needs to see our poplutaion is because they are creating another Concetration camp that will be put in place sometime around March of 2012. I am telling the truth. I am trying to help you. the earth is gong to be destroyed in late season of 2012.
Seriously? How do you believe you are “helping”? Can anything be done to prevent your prophecy? Is there something I should do to prepare for it? Is there any chance of survival? Are you helping simply by making me aware or am I missing something?
Klm, this is Niche La Voca speaking on behalf of Van Da Hunast Jr.
He is helping you trust me, without us you would have been wiped out before you knew it. Need I to remind you that he has given you the code to remember?! That code will save you when the Angels and the Ex-terrestrial beings descend from the Heavens. NOTHING can be done to stop the prophecy, it is inevitable! The greed and the evil ways of man has caused this.
Prepare for this apocalypse by remembering the code and keep your friends close but your enemies closer. We are making you aware and we are here to help guide you to survival. The code is vital for survival and could possibly save the righteous ones from utter destruction.
Niche La Voca out!
Niche La Voca reporting in.
Ripley, You are mistaken! The Government has paid off the Atronomers and the Physicists, so they won’t say anything. Obviously the meteor WILL hit the Earth, my calculations are correct and have shown me that the Earth is in danger. This meteor has been created by the GOVERNMENT and they plan on wiping out all of Asia and Israel. The debt we owe to China is too much for us to bear, and with careful planning we will destroy them. This plan of action is known as “Operation: Last Sight”. We launched the meteor into outer space, and the meteor has been lost in space and has recently been thrown in our direction by people from the other galaxy. We were so quick to put this operation into action, that we forgot how large the meteor was. We made the meteor so big that it will annihilate Planet Earth and life as we know it, will be no more. If we act quickly and prepare for this strike, we can survive. There’s still hope my fellow Americans. We will seek refuge in outer space, IT IS OUR DESTINY.!
When the earth is in total chaos and we are on the brink of destruction, “Angels” or “Exterrestrial Beings” will come down from the Heavens and save us all. You MUST have the code that Van Da Hunast Jr. has given you. 666elbibyloh777saves will save you and bring new life for you. Have faith in us, we know what we are talking about! We’ve been trying to warn you people but you never listened, now is the time for retribution.
Todos tenemos fed en dios el es el unico que sabe que es lo que puede pasar.?
ACTUALLY THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR TO COME…NIBIRU PLANET IS REACHING TO EARTH…WHAT SHOULD WE DO NOW IS TO SEEK THE TRUE RELIGION…FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED TRY TO HEAR THE DOCTRINE OF THE IGLESIA NI CRISTO…THE ONLY CHURCH THAT CHRIST PROMISE SALVATION…
[...] 2005 YU55 asteroid will sweep near Earth November 8, 2011 [...]
This is a joke!!! if the earth is destroyed then none of us are going to be around to worry about it….. especially if a large asteroid does hit the earth!!!
***Besides the earth is over populated anyway!!!! Stop having kids people!!!!
God is with us he knows everything! God love us he is the only way, and the life just in his Faith and grace we can trust
If you guys are actuaLly believing this garbage your more crazy then these wack jobs religous crazed idiots. Nothing will happen now or in 2012. The world is not gonna end and there will be no angels or extra terrestrials coming from the “heavens” to save us you guys are a joke. Think about it people it makes no sense. I dont care if your a scientist or how long you went to college for this crap is still all religion based and its just not gonna happen. If you were right or even sane dont you think more people would believe you or follow you. Exactly!! These people are nut jobs.
And if you think the GOVERNMENT made a meteor just get off this post and never talk again about anything because you are crazy and belong in a mental institution for the rest of your life. Sorry people it gets me pissed off when i hear outrageous STUPID theories like these from people who THINK they know what they are talking about
You puny earthlings will all be enslaved by the evil Cybernetic Dorkatroids from Planet Spazmatron in the Virginal 9 system, your own scientists have been recieving messages from URANUS confirming this as fact.