![]() ![]() That's why astronomers around the world are so interested in watching for YU55 during this go-round. The science team for NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer recently estimated that more than 90 percent of the near-Earth asteroids wider than a kilometer (0.6 miles) have been identified, but that thousands of asteroids in YU55's size range still remain to be detected. The fact that YU55 went unnoticed for so long does raise a question, however: What else are we missing out there? ![]() ![]() In fact, YU55 has come even closer to Earth over the centuries, but went undetected until just six years ago. From the cosmic perspective, this is no big deal. It's not expected to have any effect on Earth's tides, or on seismic activity. But the asteroid's orbital path doesn't pose any risk in the foreseeable future. If YU55 did smash into Earth, it could conceivably turn a city into a smoking crater, or stir up a destructive tsunami. But don't worry: YU55 is on course to miss the moon as well as Earth, and even if it did hit the lunar surface, the only thing that'd happen would be a fantastic fireworks show. That would bring it just within the orbit of the moon. It's due to zoom past us at 30,000 mph (50,000 kilometers per hour) at a minimum distance of 198,000 miles (319,000 kilometers) at 6:28 p.m. The hottest action will be up in the sky: This space rock (which we'll call YU55 from here on out) is about a quarter-mile (400 meters) wide, which makes it wider than an aircraft carrier. ![]()
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