Asteroid 1998 QE2 will fly past Earth at end of May at a distance of 5.8 million kilometers, or about 15 times the distance between Earth and the moon. The asteroid’s size is estimated to be about 2.7 kilometers. It will make its closest approach on May 31, 2013 at 20:59 UTC. This will be the closest it gets to Earth for at least the next two centuries. It has a cycle of about 15 years and 46 days.
Asteroid 1998 QE2 seen by Q62 iTelescope Observatory (Credit: Guido&Howes/Remanzacco Observatory)
Asteroid 1998 QE2 was discovered on August 19, 1998, by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program near Socorro, New Mexico. Its name is given by Minor Planet Center, which gives every newly discovered asteroid a provisional designation starting with the year of first detection, along with an alphanumeric code indicating the half-month it was discovered, and the sequence within that half-month.
This flyby doesn’t spark much interest with astronomers and other experts who are monitoring potentially dangerous asteroids (PHAs). However, it will interesting target for those who dabble in radar astronomy and have a 70 meter or larger radar telescope on their hands.
According to radar astronomer Lance Benner, the principal investigator for the Goldstone radar observations from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Asteroid 1998 QE2 will be an outstanding radar imaging target at Goldstone and Arecibo Observatories and he expects him and his colleagues to obtain a series of high-resolution images that could reveal a wealth of surface features. Radar images from the Goldstone antenna might resolve features on the asteroid as tiny as 3.75 meters across, even at a distance of 4 million miles away. The two telescopes have complementary imaging capabilities that will give astronomers a chance to learn as much as possible about the asteroid during its brief visit near Earth.
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Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days)
Object NameApporach DateLeftAU DistanceLD DistanceEstimated Diameter*Relative Velocity(2012 FC71)20th May 20131 day(s)0.057422.324 m – 53 m3.25 km/s11700 km/h(2012 VN82)21st May 20132 day(s)0.184371.7270 m – 610 m12.09 km/s43524 km/h(2000 GD147)21st May 20132 day(s)0.144556.3250 m – 570 m15.11 km/s54396 km/h(2011 KG4)21st May 20132 day(s)0.177969.267 m – 150 m11.99 km/s43164 km/h(2009 SB)22nd May 20133 day(s)0.196976.6200 m – 460 m31.78 km/s114408 km/h163364 (2002 OD20)22nd May 20133 day(s)0.038815.1460 m – 1.0 km10.18 km/s36648 km/h172722 (2004 BV102)24th May 20135 day(s)0.179569.9840 m – 1.9 km26.53 km/s95508 km/h(2012 KF25)25th May 20136 day(s)0.079330.923 m – 51 m9.14 km/s32904 km/h(2011 KE3)29th May 201310 day(s)0.130350.743 m – 97 m5.36 km/s19296 km/h285263 (1998 QE2)30th May 201311 day(s)0.039215.21.4 km – 3.1 km10.58 km/s38088 km/h(2011 BM45)31st May 201312 day(s)0.074929.2130 m – 280 m27.67 km/s99612 km/h(2004 KH17)02nd June 201314 day(s)0.097938.1110 m – 250 m12.91 km/s46476 km/h1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometersSource: NASA-NEO
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