Giant asteroid 1998 QE2 to pass Earth May 31May 21, 2013 - 11:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A giant asteroid called 1998 QE2, named after the year it was discovered, is slated to whiz past Earth on May 31, something it won’t do again for another 200 years, SlashGear reports. The asteroid is said to measure in at about 1.7-miles long, and although it will be about 3.6 million miles away from Earth as it passes, the distance is still short enough for space agencies to get detailed images of it, making the event very notable. Thus far, no one knows what this asteroid looks like, which makes the event rare and exceptional due to the relatively close distance by which it will pass. At such a distance, it is possible for NASA to snap images as detailed as 12-feet across, a remarkable result considering that the space rock will be millions of miles away and is about 2-miles in length/diameter. NASA astronomer Lance Benner commented: “Whenever an asteroid approaches this closely, it provides an important scientific opportunity to study it in detail to understand its size, shape, rotation, surface features, and what they can tell us about its origin. We will also use new radar measurements of the asteroid’s distance and velocity to improve our calculation of its orbit and compute its motion farther into the future than we could otherwise.” The imaging will be done via the NASA Deep Space Network antenna in California, as well as the Arecibo Observatory located in Puerto Rico. The information gathered by each telescope will be combined to create as many details about the asteroid as possible, aiding researchers in their efforts to learn about the space rock that has been flying around for quite some time. Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |