Asteroid 2005 YU55 Close Encounter with Earth 8 Nov 2011
2005 YU55, also written as 2005 YU55, is a potentially hazardous asteroid that is 400 meters in diameter. It was discovered on 28 December 2005 by Robert S. McMillan at Steward Observatory, Kitt Peak.
In February 2010 it was rated 1 on the Torino Scale. On 19 April 2010, highly accurate radar targeting by the Arecibo radio telescope reduced uncertainties about the orbit by 50 percent. This improvement eliminated any possibility of an impact with the Earth for the next 100 years.
On 8 November 2011 at 23:28 UT, the asteroid will safely pass within 0.85 lunar distances of the Earth. A lunar distance of 0.85 is also 0.00217 AU (325,000 km; 202,000 mi). On 9 November 2011 at 07:13 UT, the asteroid will pass 0.00160 AU (239,000 km; 149,000 mi) from the moon. During the close approach, the asteroid should reach about apparent magnitude 11, and may be visible in high-end binoculars with an objective lens of 70mm or larger.
On 19 January 2029 the asteroid will pass about 0.0019 AU (280,000 km; 180,000 mi) from Venus.
Music: Bethoven Symphony 8
