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From: bernd.pauli_at_paulinet.de <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:25:40 2004
Message-ID: <DIIE.0000005C00000A6A_at_paulinet.de>

> Several years ago a asteroid "flew" between the moon and earth.
> Who knows the date it happened, its name, its distance, its size, etc.

Hello Robert and List,

You are probably talking about 1998 KY26, a unique NEA (near-Earth asteroid).
Its size is about 30 meters or 100 feet and it is said be be the fastest-spinning
solar system object as it completes one spin every 10.7 minutes.

LPL Professor Tom Gehrels discovered asteroid 1998 KY26 on May 28, 1998,
using the 0.9 meter (36-inch) Spacewatch telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona.

Between June 2 and June 8, the asteroid made its closest swing by Earth at a
distance of half a million miles, or just twice the distance between the Earth and
the moon and its color and radar reflectivity showed similarities to volatile-rich
carbonaceous chondrites!

But there is an even closer candidate: 2000 NY40

August 17-18, 2002, it passed so close to Earth that it could easily be spotted
in small telescopes and good binoculars. Calculations by the Minor Planet Center
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, indicated the flyby brought it to within 527,000 km
(327,000 miles) of Earth, just outside the Moon's orbit.

Best regards,

Bernd

To: bergrob_at_knmg.nl
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Received on Wed 14 May 2003 04:47:28 PM PDT