Giant asteroid Toutatis 4179 passes near Earth on Wednesday

A peanut-shaped asteroid with an area of ​​10 square kilometers will pass close to Earth on December 12, 2012. Researchers say there is no concern of collision because its path does not intersect our planet.

Flyby: Asteroid 4179 Toutatis will safely pass Earth on Wednesday 12 December 2012. Photo:wikipedia.org

Scientists at the University of Colorado named the space rock Toutatis 4179 and is one of the largest asteroids that ever approached Earth, according to National Geographic. It featured huge dimensions, 4 kilometers (4.46 km) long and 2 km (2.4 km) wide. It is considered e near-Earth object, although that will be passing within 6.9 millions kilometers, a distance that is 18 times bigger than between Moon and Earth.

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Asteroid’s form would provide information about how it appeared. Researchers say Toutatis looks like a elongated peanut or a snowman, and they even created a computer image from tests and imaging radar. There are several theories on how it was formed, but none is certain. Its structure may be the result of a collision with another celestial body or just the result of YORP effect, which says that sunlight can make an asteroid start rotating as it travels through space.

4179 Toutatis was first spotted on 10 February 1934, as object 1934 CT, and then suddenly lost. It has been considered as a lost asteroid for decades till it was re-discovered on 4 January 1989, by Christian Pollas, and was named after the Celtic god Toutatis/Teutates, according to Wikipedia.

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