CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The asteroid that once had a small chance of striking Earth and now might slam into the moon resembles a spinning hockey puck, scientists said Tuesday.
New observations show the asteroid that won’t hit Earth resembles a spinning hockey puck
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The asteroid that once had a small chance of striking Earth and now might slam into the moon resembles a spinning hockey puck, scientists said Tuesday.
A team of astronomers used the Gemini South Observatory in Chile to observe asteroid 2024 YR4 in multiple wavelengths as it zoomed away from Earth in February, barely 1 1/2 months after its discovery. They created a 3D image of it based on their findings.
The nearly 200 foot (60-meter) asteroid looks more like a flat disk - or not-quite-round hockey puck - than a potato. It also has a rapid rotation rate of about once every 20 minutes.
"This find was rather unexpected since most asteroids are thought to be shaped like potatoes or toy tops rather than flat disks," the research team lead, Bryce Bolin from Eureka Scientific said in a statement.