From Newsgroup: sci.space.news


http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6615

Small Asteroid Flew Safely Past Earth Today
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
September 7, 2016

[Animation]
Animated gif of asteroid 2016 RB1's close approach to Earth This animated
gif of asteroid 2016 RB1's close approach to Earth was imaged by astronomer Gianluca Masi on the evening of Sept. 6, 2016, using the Virtual Telescope located in Ceccano, Central Italy. Image credit: VT/Masi

A small asteroid designated 2016 RB1 safely flew past Earth today at 10:20 a.m. PDT (1:20 p.m. EDT / 17:20 UTC) at a distance of about 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers, or just less than 1/10th the distance of Earth to
the moon). Because the asteroid's orbit carried it below (or over) Earth's south pole, it did not pass within the orbits of communication or weather satellites. 2016 RB1 is estimated to be between 25 to 50 feet (7 and 16 meters) in diameter. It is the closest the space rock will come to Earth
for at least the next half century.

Asteroid 2016 RB1 was discovered on Sept. 5, 2016, by astronomers using
the 60-inch Cassegrain reflector telescope of the Catalina Sky Survey,
located at the summit of Mount Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains north
of Tucson, Arizona -- a project of NASA'S NEO Observations Program in collaboration with the University of Arizona.

The Center for NEO Studies website has a complete list of recent and upcoming close approaches, as well as all other data on the orbits of known NEOs (near-Earth objects), so scientists and members of the media and public
can track information on known objects.

For asteroid news and updates, follow AsteroidWatch on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/AsteroidWatch

News Media Contact
DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726 / 202-358-1077
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / laura.l.cantillo@nasa.gov

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