Close asteroid approachIn 1937, an asteroid approached the Earth, at about twice the distance of the moon. At the time, it was regarded as the closest approach of any body other than a meteor. It traversed the night sky at 5 degrees per hour. It was first spotted two nights earlier, on 28 Oct. Astronomer Karl Reinmuth of Heidelberg noticed a streak of light on a picture he had just taken. Because of its fast motion, he named it Hermes, after the herald of the Olympian gods. He was able to observe it for only five days before viewing conditions became unfavorable. It was lost until sighted again on 15 Oct 2003 by Lowell Observatory astronomer Brian Skiff. Its elliptical orbit took 777 days, cutting across the orbits of Venus, Earth and Mars. It was found to be a binary object by Jean-Luc Margot at the Arecibo Observatory.« |
