Swans, am I going to be able to see the asteroid

ha...i got on this message board today to see if anyone had the answer to that.

If anyone does, it's Swans!

As it passed over - is it going to be over us at any point?

Pamela

Good day Pamela,
Asteroid 2005YU's path exits near South America and outward from the Pacific, but does not seem to pass over the USVI directly on entry. She would not be visible to the naked eye in any case, since her orbit between the Moon and Earth is 201,700 miles at the closest point to Earth... and she is a relatively small object out there at that distance. Her return will occur in 2028

Described as a sphere, darker than coal, and 1300ft ( 1/4 mile) in size, 2005YU may "possibly" be seen using a 6 inch telescope or larger as she passes near Earth at 6:28 pm ET and 7:28 pm USVI time. The difficulty in spotting the asteroid - even using a telescope - is due to the high speed at which it travels.

2005YU is being tracked via radar using the 230ft wide (70 meter) Deep Space Network Antenna located in Goldstone, CA and also using the ARECIBO Planetary Radar Facility (a 1000ft radar antenna) in Puerto Rico.

Information on Asteroids and Near Earth Asteroids (NEO) can be found at www.nasa.gov ....as we all know...

Thank you, Pamela, for your very kind words.:-)

And welcome to the the USVI forum, Shibuya! (Don't forget to check our ISS Spacestation sighting tomorrow night! She sure is pretty!)

Swan

Bummer - oh well the Spacestation tomorrow night it is.

Pamela

thank you. it is my dream to tour Aricebo, but you sure are a hardy stand-in 🙂

thank you. it is my dream to tour Aricebo, but you sure are a hardy stand-in 🙂

You are very welcome; and thank you, too, for the compliment. I hope you can someday tour ARECIBO in PR:-)
Swan

Where is the best place to view the SS? My fiancee is nagging me to find out where we can see it.

Where is the best place to view the SS? My fiancee is nagging me to find out where we can see it.

Good night Jbati,
ISS can be viewed tomorrow night if you have a clear sky from the direction of the WNW (West/ North West) to the SSE (South/ South East).

Time: At exactly 6:14 PM (use a cellphone clock) look to spot her coming from 10 degrees over the WNW horizon. Be patient...:-)
Path: maximum elevation is about 40 degrees over the horizon (Not quite overhead, but a bit off center)
A 6 minute run.
She will arrive From the WNW and Depart To the SSE.

She will appear as a bright, non-blinking light as she steadily glides silently across the night sky.
Aboard her are 3 crew members.

"Give em' a wave!"
After tomorrow's visit, she will return to the early morning sighting schedule once again.

Enjoy!
Swan

this will be my first sighting; i am so excited!

Awesome. Thanks.

Good morning,
NASA (JPL) has released a short viewing of Asteroid 2005YU 55, which just passed between Earth and the Moon recently.. I thought some asteroid buffs may be interested in seeing what she looked like as we now say good-bye to her - until her return in 2028.

Swan
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?collection_id=77341&media_id=119737731

For our asteroid followers, Asteroid 2002AM31 will pass by the Earth this weekend. Although it cannot be seen with the naked eye, SLOOH Space Camera will air the event LIVE on;

Sunday, July 22nd, @ 7:30 PM EDT
Monday, July 23rd @ 11:00 PM EDT

www.slooh.com
, http://www.space.com/16662-asteroid-earth-flyby-weekend-2002-am31.html

Swan
😀