Asteroid '2000 EM26' on close approach tonight

An asteroid with estimated size of 120 – 270 m will make a relatively close approach to our planet on February 18, 2014. The asteroid, named "2000 EM26", will fly by us at the nominal distance of 0.022 AU (3.21 million km / 8.8 lunar distances) with a relative speed of 12.37 km/s (about 43 000 km/h and 27 000 mph).

Robotic space camera "Slooh" plans to track its close approach. Their live webcast starts at 02:00 UTC on February 18 (that's 21:00 EST on February 17). 

Viewers can ask questions of Slooh host and astronomer Bob Berman on social media by using the hashtag #asteroid. The webcast will use images of Asteroid 2000 EM26 captured from Slooh's ground-based telescopes.

Image and data below courtesy of NASA JPL / SSD

[ Ephemeris | Orbit Diagram | Orbital Elements | Physical Parameters | Close-Approach Data ]

Video courtesy of Slooh

Featured image: Asteroid Gaspra (NASA JPL / SSD)