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Comment by guest_blog on November 8, 2011 at 12:26pm

Here it comes! How to track our close encounter with asteroid YU55... larger than an aircraft carrier and closer than the moon

 

Last updated at 3:00 PM on 8th November 2011

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Today's the day an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier passes by Earth within the moon's orbit - about as close as we want anything that size to get.

Scientists confidently reassure us that asteroid YU55 it will neither hit us or cause any disruption to our day. But it will nonetheless be a topic of conversation, and it's worth knowing a bit about our massive visitor to show your friends you're asteroid savvy.

Apart from the technical stuff - that YU55 is a quarter-mile wide, travelling at 30,000mph and will get within 201,700 miles of us - what is there to know, and where can it be seen as it sweeps by?

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Meet YU55: This NASA/JPL-Caltech image shows asteroid 2005 YU55 on when it was about 860,000 miles from Earth, It will pass within 198,000 miles today

Star chart: Sky & Telescope magazine has published charts for the serious stargazer. But backyard astronomers will need clear skies and a telescope with an aperture of at least six inches