Video: Tiny Asteroid 2012 KT42 Crossing The Sky

2012_KT42_MOID-40min.jpg

A few hours ago, asteroid 2012 KT42 passed by Earth at distance of a mere 14,440 kilometers (8,950 miles), the 6th closest pass on record. This is almost three times closer than geosynchronous satellites. Alex Gibbs from the

Catalina Sky Survey

, the discoverer of this asteroid, created this video of 2012 KT42 during its closest approach to Earth. Don't panic, Gibbs says, as the video shows the asteroid moving at 2,000 times the actual speed. However, the asteroid

was

zooming along at 17km/sec (38,000 mph). Each image is a 3 second exposure, during which the object moved, creating a trail. The images were taken on May 29, 2012 between 4:30 and 6:55 UT, the latter being 6 minutes before closest approach. This asteroid was less than 10 meters across, so was far too small to make it through our atmosphere intact, even if it did intersect directly with Earth's path. Gibbs said the asteroid was a little brighter than expected, but otherwise lived up to its predicted pass distance and size.

Other astrophotographers also got images of 2012 KT42's close pass.

Peter Lake

has this 20-second image, very close to the time of closest approach:

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Lake said he actually took 15 images via a robotic telescope, of which only three had the asteroid in them. "That's how fast it was going," he said.

(Video Courtesy Alex R. Gibbs, Catalina Sky Survey, University of Arizona, NASA Near-Earth Object Program.)

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com