. According to radar images from NASA’s 230-foot-wide Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, California, the asteroid 2004 BLflew past Earth yesterday at a distance of 000 miles (1.12m km). Asteroid 2004 BL86 flew past Earth yesterday at a distance of 745,000 miles (1.2m km), which is about 3.1 times as far as from here to the Moon. These twenty images were created from data collected at Goldstone in January th, 2015.. These images show the main body is approximately 325 meters (1 ,100 foot) in diameter, and its smaller moon is approximately 70 m (655 ft) in width. Image of asteroid 2004 with its smaller moon (Image: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Near-Earth asteroids with a minimum width of 200 meters HTML3_ feet have an asteroid moon that is smaller than the rest. Some have more than one moon. The closest asteroid 2004 came to Earth for at least 200 years. In 2027, asteroid 199 AN10 will do a similar-distanced flyby. The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research, (LINEAR), survey was able to find this asteroid in 2004. It is located in White Sands in New Mexico. Radar can be used to study an asteroid’s surface features such as its size, shape and rotation. Radar also aids in the calculation of an asteroid’s orbit. Scientists can predict the orbits of asteroid far in advance using radar measurements. NASA released a statement Monday saying that it places high importance on the tracking of asteroids, and their protection. The U.S. actually has one of the strongest and most productive programs for finding near-Earth objects. U.S. assets are responsible for discovering more 98% of all known NEOs. NASA will launch a robot probe to the potentially dangerous NEOs next year. OSIRIS REx’s mission to asteroid (101955) Bennu maps the route for any future spacecraft that will perform reconnaissance of objects potentially threatening our planet. NASA studies comets and asteroids, but not just because they could pose threats. These comets provide valuable data about the history of the solar system and the origin of water. Video: Asteroid 2004 has a small moon This video of the asteroid is based on radar data collected by NASA’s Deep Space Network antenna. 20 images were used.
