[meteorite-list] Czech Stargazers Check Out Asteriod's Flyby (2003 UT55)

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:37 2004
Message-ID: <200310311729.JAA14320_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=118&art_id=qw106759782128B222&set_id=1

Czech stargazers check out asteroid's fly-by
www.iol.co.za (South Africa)
October 31, 2003

Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic - Astronomers in the Czech Republic
reported on Friday the discovery of a rare asteroid that swept within about
a million kilometres of Earth this week.

The close encounter was tracked by Klet Observatory astronomers and recorded
by the United States-based Minor Planet Centre at Harvard University, Klet
scientists reported.

The asteroid, named 2003 UT55, is the latest of 194 known asteroids
classified in the Atens category.

UT55 is also the first Atens spotted by the Klet team since the observatory
installed a new telescope last year and began searching for "unusual
objects".

Atens asteroids are relatively small and streak through our solar system
between the Earth and the Sun.

The Czech astronomers calculated UT55 to be at less than 20 metres in
diameter and said it came relatively near to Earth, within 1,1 million
kilometres or about three times the closest distance from the Moon to the
Earth.

The object was not close enough to qualify for the international list of
about 540 "potentially hazardous asteroids" watched most carefully by the
world's scientists.

But Klet director Jana Ticha said data gleaned from the close encounter will
help scientists better understand the millions of asteroids racing through
near space. - Sapa-DPA
Received on Fri 31 Oct 2003 12:29:41 PM PST