newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

People may remember waiting for the satellite the size of a school bus that fell to Earth in September. Another space rock is expected to come close to the planet this evening.

An asteroid named 2005 YU55 should come within about 197,000 miles closer than the orbit of the moon by about 6:28 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

According to National Geographic, the 1,300-foot-wide roughly spherical space rock, which is about the size of an aircraft carrier, will come close enough that amateur astronomers—especially those in North America and western Europe—can see it with moderately powerful telescopes. An asteroid of that size has not traveled that close to the Earth since 1976.

Fox News reports that the space rock will be moving pretty fast by 6:28, traveling at about 29,000 MPH, but research scientist Lance Benner, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said it cannot hit Earth.

But its track toward us will cover the 70° of sky to the east across several constellations in only 10 hours. Sky and Telescope has created two charts detailing where to look for the asteroid.

CBS News reported the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico planned a viewing of the asteroid Tuesday. Researchers will analyze radar images of the rock to learn about its surface and shape. The 2005 YU55 was discovered six years ago by an astronomer from the University of Arizona.

MSNBC reports that NASA science teams have estimated that over 90 percent of asteroids near the Earth that are wider than a kilometer have been identified, but that thousands of the size of YU55 have not yet been spotted.

NASA’S Asteroid and Comet Watch will be tracking 2005 YU55’s travels through November 10.