AUGUST 18th

**demon chloe** · August 3rd, 2002, 01:03 AM

Watch the skies for August asteroid
Space rock should be visible through binoculars, experts say
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Asteroid 2002 NY40 comes closest to Earth on the morning of Aug. 18. This image shows the sky at 4 a.m. ET on that morning, as seen from mid-northern latitudes. The yellow dots mark the asteroid's position at one-hour intervals from midnight ET through the early morning of Aug. 18. The bright star Vega serves as a guidepost. Click for a larger version of the sky map.

THE GIANT BOULDER, named 2002 NY40, was discovered about a month ago.
On Aug. 18, the asteroid will be 327,200 miles (526,600 kilometers) from Earth, according to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass. That will put it well beyond the moon?s orbit. The asteroid?s exact size is not known, but it is ?somewhat smaller than 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) in diameter,? said Gareth Williams, associate director of the center.
Rough estimates by astronomers have put the asteroid at 547 yards (500 meters) wide. A pair of Louisiana Superdomes would fit inside an object this size, with ample room left over for parking.

NOT VISIBLE TO NAKED EYE
Asteroid 2002 NY40 should brighten to about magnitude 9.3 on Aug. 18, Williams told Space.com. The faintest objects visible to the unaided eye are around magnitude 6.0, on a scale where larger numbers indicated dimmer objects. The brightest stars in the sky are typically categorized as zero or first magnitude.

? True Tally of Asteroids Probably at High End of Estimates
? Too Close for Comfort: Asteroid Passed Within 75,000 Miles of Earth

An asteroid becomes as bright as 2002 NY40 from our terrestrial vantage point only about once or twice a decade. However, a similar event occurred last December. The next time a known asteroid will appear this bright is in 2004.
Two days prior to its closest approach, the asteroid will achieve a brightness of magnitude 12. By Aug. 19, a day after closest approach, its brightness will drop off dramatically, to magnitude 21.
Asteroid 2002 NY40 presents no danger of hitting Earth on this pass around the sun. However, astronomers have calculated eight close passes on future orbits, one of which in the year 2022 presents an extremely low (but not zero) probability of an impact. Experts say an object this large could cause regional destruction, change the world climate temporarily, and kill millions of people if it hit a populated area.

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