Asteroid 2011 GP59 Approaches Earth

Asteroid 2011 GP59 Approaches Earth

by djxatlanta on Apr 14, 2011

Animation compiled from 137 frames showing the rotation of asteroid 2011 GP59, discovered on April 8, 2011. The asteroid is elongated -- about 240 feet long -- and spins very rapidly every 7.5 minutes, causing the blinking effect in this movie. These images were taken on April 11, 2011 when the asteroid was approximately 2 million miles from Earth. 2011 GP59 will pass Earth just beyond the Moon's orbit on April 15.

credit: Nick James

source: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-118

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVzgLh98COg

There is a longer video from an independent telescope here:

by astrojunk on Apr 15, 2011

Near Earth Object 2011 GP59 passes us at its closes approach, just a moon and a half distant. This one missed us, but amateur astronomers the world over are helping to monitor thse events.

Taken with a Meade LX200 14" SCT and Gstar-EX video Camera

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQN9cip0DDw