Asteroid 2017 TD6 to flyby Earth at 0.5 LD on October 19, 2017
Featured image: The green line indicates the object's apparent motion relative to the Earth, and the bright green marks are the object's location at approximately one-hour intervals. The Moon's orbit is gray. The blue arrow points in the direction of Earth's motion and the yellow arrow points toward the Sun. Credit: Minor Planet Center
A newly discovered asteroid designated 2017 TD6 will flyby Earth at 0.5 LD (~192 999 km / 119 303 miles) at 18:56 UTC on October 19, 2017. This is the 41st known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year.
This asteroid belongs to the Apollo group and was first observed at Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala on October 11, 2017, 8 days before its close approach.
2017 TD6 has an estimated diameter of 9.9 to 22 m (32 to 72 feet). It will flyby Earth at a speed (relative to the Earth) of 9.21 km/s at 18:56 UTC on October 19.
[ Ephemeris | Orbit Diagram | Orbital Elements | Physical Parameters | Close-Approach Data ]
This is the 41st known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year, and 6th this month.
Reference:
Asteroid 2017 TD6 at Minor Planet Center; CNEOS
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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