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Will asteroid 2002 NY40 collide with the Earth?
Asteroid 2002 NY40 was discovered in July and in August 2002 approached the Earth to a distance of around 500,000 km, 1.3 times the distance to the Moon. At 800m in diameter 2002 NY40 could be seen in the night sky with a pair of binoculars, an event thought to occur, on average, once every 50 years.
During its close fly-by the asteroid was pinged with radar and its orbit determined to a high degree of accuracy. It is now known that 2002 NY40 will not approach the Earth as close again.
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