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On the 17th and 18th of August you can get the chance to do a spot of Near Earth Asteroid tracking for yourself using nothing more than a pair of binoculars. An 800 metre wide asteroid called 2002 NY40 is going to pass around 1.3 times the distance of the Moon to the Earth and will be close enough to be seen in the night sky. The asteroid was discovered on the 14th of July this year and follows a path that takes it from the asteroid belt, between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter, to past the Earth. Although asteroid 2002 NY40 will pass close to us in astronomical terms it is known that it will not collide with the Earth.
The Near Earth Asteroid's path is shown opposite and will be best seen from the northern hemisphere in the evening for North Americans and the early morning for Europeans. A team of astronomers led by Mike Nolan at the giant Arecibo radar in Puerto Rico will "ping" 2002 NY40 with radio waves as it approaches Earth to determine its exact shape and size. Radar observations allow very accurate measurements of asteroids to be made but have limited range and thus are mainly used to study asteroids that approach the Earth closely. With binoculars or a telescope, however, everyone will be able to watch the spectacle of the asteroid wander over the night sky - weather permitting.
More info: NASA News
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