Asteroid Flyby The 230-foot wide radio telescope at the Goldstone Deep Space facility in Ft. Irwin, Calif., is seen, Monday, Nov 7, 2011. The radio telescope has been tracking asteroid 2005 YU55. At closest approach, the quarter-mile-wide space rock will pass within 202,000 miles of our planet at 6:28 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Leonard Ortiz) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT
Asteroid Flyby This image made from radar data obtained on Nov. 7, 2011 at 11:45 a.m. PST (2:45 p.m. EST/1945 UTC) and provided by NASA shows asteroid 2005 YU55 when the space rock was at 3.6 lunar distances, which is about 860,000 miles, or 1.38 million kilometers, from Earth. The asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier is set to make a close but harmless swing by Earth on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. Scientists at NASA's Near-Earth Object Program, which tracks asteroids and comets, ruled out any chance of impact. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech)
AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech
Asteroid Flyby Lance Benner, research scientist at JPL displays a recent image of asteroid 2005 YU55 near the 230-foot wide radio telescope at the Goldstone Deep Space facility in Ft. Irwin, Calif., is seen, Monday, Nov 7, 2011. The radio telescope has been tracking asteroid 2005 YU55. At closest approach, the quarter-mile-wide space rock will pass within 202,000 miles of our planet at 6:28 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Leonard Ortiz) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT
Asteroid Flyby The reflection of the 230-foot wide radio telescope at the Goldstone Deep Space facility in Ft. Irwin, Calif., is reflected in the sunglass of Jeff Osman on Monday, Nov 7, 2011. The radio telescope has been tracking asteroid 2005 YU55. At closest approach, the quarter-mile-wide space rock will pass within 202,000 miles of our planet at 6:28 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. (AP Photo/Orange County Register,Leonard Ortiz) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT
Asteroid Flyby The 230-foot wide radio telescope at the Goldstone Deep Space facility in Ft. Irwin, Calif., is seen, Monday, Nov 7, 2011. The radio telescope has been tracking asteroid 2005 YU55. At closest approach, the quarter-mile-wide space rock will pass within 202,000 miles of our planet at 6:28 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Leonard Ortiz) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT
WASHINGTON — You won’t want to close your eyes, you won’t want to fall asleep. If scientists are wrong, not even Ben Affleck can save you.
An asteroid the size of the U.S.S. Nimitz passed by Earth Tuesday. NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program says the impact of the rock, dubbed 2005 YU55, would equal a 4,000-megaton blast and create 70-foot high tsunami waves, CBS News reports.
That’s near 200,000 times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
NASA predicted the murderous cosmic body will miss our planet by about 202,000 miles. That’s about 0.85 times the distance to the moon, NASA says. The last time an asteroid this size came this close to Earth was in 1976, and it shouldn’t happen again until 2028 — provided we’re still here.
The asteroid passed by around 6:28 p.m. Tuesday.
Check out this explanation of this death star’s approach:
Scientists have learned a lot about 2005 YU55 since it was first discovered six years ago by a University of Arizona astronomer. It’s surface is coal black, and it spins slowly while shooting through space.
Antennas at the space agency’s Deep Space Network in California have been monitoring the quarter-mile wide asteroid since late last week as it approaches from the direction of the sun.
Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory will host a viewing Tuesday evening when the asteroid is at its closest. Scientists will analyze radar images to learn more about the surface of the object.
You can try to see the asteroid for yourself. All you need is a good sky chart and a 6-inch telescope or larger. The asteroid will be too faint to detect with the naked eye, and the glare from the moon may make it difficult to spot.
Get your celestial body nomenclature right:
Asteroid — Any small, rocky celestial body found especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
Meteor — Any matter in the solar system made visible by entering Earth’s atmosphere
Meteoroid — Any matter in the solar system related to a meteor before it enters Earth’s atmosphere
Comet — A celestial body that appears with a fuzzy head and bright center, consisting of ice and dust and usually develops a long tail when near the sun
Apparently 2005 YU55 has developed a mind of its own, and enjoys sharing in 140 characters or less. Follow its updates below:
WTOP’s Paul D. Shinkman contributed to this report. Follow Paul and WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2011 by WTOP and The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
