NASA captures images of Asteroid Toutatis passing by Earth

 
 
 
Video: NASA captures images of Asteroid Toutatis passing by Earth
 

This 64-frame movie of asteroid Toutatis was generated from data by Goldstone's Solar System Radar on Dec. 12 and 13, 2012. In the movie clips, the rotation of the asteroid appears faster than it occurs in nature.

Photograph by: NASA , Vancouver Sun

A large asteroid that flew in nearly the same orbit as Earth made a close pass by the planet last week, but there was little chance of an impact. The asteroid, named 4179 Toutatis, flies by Earth every four years. During its closest approach on December 12 and 13, the celestial rock passed about 7 million kilometres from Earth, which is about 18 times farther away than the moon. The 4.3-kilometre-long asteroid circles the sun in an orbit that is very closely aligned with Earth's, making it a potentially hazardous object for the future.
NASA captured a series of radar data images of Toutatis, which they says "indicate that it is an elongated, irregularly shaped object with ridges and perhaps craters. Along with shape detail, scientists are also seeing some interesting bright glints that could be surface boulders. Toutatis has a very slow, tumbling rotational state. The asteroid rotates about its long axis every 5.4 days and precesses (changes the orientation of its rotational axis) like a wobbling, badly thrown football, every 7.4 days."
NASA used the images of Toutatis to produce a short video. According to NASA, Toutatis won't get this close to earth until 2069.
Those interested in learning more about asteroids should check out the website Asterank, which features an impressive 3D visualization of the more than half-million asteroids in the solar system.