An asteroid nine times larger than a transatlantic ... - ABC.es

The rock will fly no danger to our planet at a distance of 5.8 million km on May 31

An asteroid bigger than an ocean liner make its closest approach to Earth on May 31 . Despite its large size, the rock does not pose any hazard to our planet as class=”c5″> , fifteen times the distance to Moon. Astronomers can observe the asteroid, called 1998 QE2, with telescopes from 70 meters and can obtain high-resolution images reveal the surface features.

“Every time an asteroid approaches provides an important scientific opportunity to study it in detail and understand its size, shape, rotation, surface characteristics, and what we can say about its origin “explains astronomer Lance Benner, the principal investigator in the Goldstone radar Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Also, can use the new measurements of the distance and speed of the rock to improve the calculation of its orbit and learn how to move in the future.

1998 QE2 was discovered on August 19, 1998 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its closest approach will occur on 31 May at 22.59 CET Spanish. not bring us both for at least the next two centuries .

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The asteroid, which is believed to have 2.7 miles long, and nine ships ‘Queen Elizabeth 2′ placed one after the other, receives the name assigned by the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that gives each newly discovered asteroid a provisional designation from the year of first detection, along with an alphanumeric code indicating the half-month in which it was discovered and sequence within that half-month.

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dog bones, bowls, spheres, diamonds, muffins or potatoes. To know what is 1998 seems QE2, astronomers continue their trail between May 30 and June 9 from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. NASA put a high priority on tracking asteroids in order to protect our planet for future impacts.