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Radar Image of ‘Christmas Eve’ Asteroid 2003 SD2020
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Caption:
This image of an asteroid that is at least 3,600 feet (1,100 meters) long was taken on Dec. 17, 2015, by scientists using NASA's 230-foot (70-meter) DSS-14 antenna at Goldstone, California. This asteroid, named 2003 SD2020, will safely fly past Earth on Thursday, Dec. 24, at a distance of 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers).
At the time this image was taken, the asteroid was about 7.3 million miles (12 million kilometers) from Earth. In 2018, this asteroid will fly past Earth at a distance of 1.8 million miles (2.8 million kilometers).
Background Info:
More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch . More information about asteroid radar research is at http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/ .
More information about the Deep Space Network is at http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn .
Cataloging Keywords:
| Name | Value | Additional Values |
|---|---|---|
| Target | 2003 SD220 | |
| System | Near Earth Objects | |
| Target Type | Asteroid | |
| Mission | Deep Space Network (DSN) | |
| Instrument Host | Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC) | |
| Host Type | Ground-Based Observatory | |
| Instrument | Goldstone Solar System Radar | |
| Detector | ||
| Extra Keywords | Grayscale, Radar, Radio | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 2015-12-23 | |
| Date in Caption | 2015-12-17 | |
| Image Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSSR | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20279 | |
| Identifier | PIA20279 | |
