2002 AM31

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Watch asteroid 2002 AM31 zip by Earth Sunday night via live webcast
Posted on July 21, 2012 by astrobob

[b][color=#0000FF]2002 AM31 swings by Earth tomorrow evening at 13.7 lunar distances. The diagram shows its position near Earth this morning (July 21). Credit: JPL/NASA[/color][/b]

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<<An Earth-approaching asteroid discovered in 2002 will be passing through the neighborhood Sunday night (July 22 [Rat Catcher's Day]). 2002 AM31, a leftover fragment of rock from the solar system’s youth, will fly safely by Earth at a distance of 3.2 million miles (13.7 times the distance to the moon) around 8 p.m. (CDT) July 22.

With a diameter estimated between 1,115 and 2,600 feet, 2002 AM31 is bigger than many close approaching asteroids. Pity it won’t be very bright – only 14th magnitude – but savvy amateur astronomers with 10-inch or larger telescopes can track it in the northern sky as it creeps through the constellation Cepheus.

If you don’t have the equipment, no worries. The SLOOH Space Camera will broadcast the asteroid flyby live beginning 6:30 p.m. (CDT) Sunday. Because of its relatively small size and distance, 2002 AM31 will look like a “star” moving across a field of background stars. I’ve watched these webcasts before and they’re a lot of fun. You not only feel like you’re “right there” in real time, but you’ll learn a lot about asteroids from the accompanying commentary.>>

• "... that most remarkable story ... of the Pied Piper, that carryed away a hundred and sixty Children from the Town of Hamel in Saxony, on the 22. of July, Anno Dom. 1376. A wonderful permission of GOD to the Rage of the Devil".
  • - William Ramesey's Wormes (1668)