QE2 asteroid to fly by Earth from safe distance

QE2 asteroid to fly by Earth from safe distance
Asteroid 1998 QE2 will get no closer than about 3.6 million miles at time of closest approach on May 31 at 1:59 p.m. Pacific (4:59 p.m. Eastern). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

An asteroid more than 1½ miles long will zoom past Earth this week from a far-off distance.

The big rock called Asteroid 1998 QE2 will make its closest approach Friday. It will keep a safe distance of 3.6 million miles, or 15 times the distance between Earth and the moon. You won't be able to see it without a powerful .

It's believed to be about 1.7 miles long, or about nine times the length of the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship. But that has nothing to do with its name. The letters and number in the name represent the timing and sequence of the asteroid's in 1998.

Scientists will use large radar telescopes to study its shape, rotation and .

More information: NASA: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ast … steroid20130515.html

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Citation: QE2 asteroid to fly by Earth from safe distance (2013, May 28) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2013-05-qe2-asteroid-earth-safe-distance.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Dark, massive asteroid to fly by Earth on May 31

1 shares

Feedback to editors