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Gianluca Masi and Franco Mallia of the Campo Catino Astronomical Observatory captured these 24 images of asteroid 2004 FH as it made its close approach to Earth on Thursday 18 March. When joined together to produce an animation, the images show changes in the asteroid�s brightness. These changes are produced as a result of the asteroid�s axial rotation.
Image: Gianluca Masi and Franco Mallia
03:11:09 � 03:23:42 GMT � 18 March 2004
Masi and Mallia, used the 14-inch SoTIE telescope in Las Campanas, Chile, to capture an image every 31 seconds. 2004 FH passed within just 43 000 km of Earth, a little over 10% of the distance between Earth and the Moon, making it the closest approach ever recorded. However, the space rock is tiny, with an estimated diameter of between 25-30 meters and is not considered to be a serious threat to Earth.
More info: Campo Catino Astronomical Observatory
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