During the close approach of 2008 OS7 with Earth on February 2, the agency’s Deep Space Network planetary radar gathered the first detailed images of the stadium-size asteroid.
On February 2, a large asteroid safely drifted past Earth at a distance of about 1.8 million miles (2.9 million kilometers, or 7 ½ times the distance between Earth and the Moon). There was no risk of the asteroid – called 2008 OS7 – impacting our planet, but scientists at
Radar Imaging Reveals Details
During the February 2 close approach, CNEOS) refine calculations of the asteroid’s orbital path around the Sun. Asteroid 2008 OS7 orbits the Sun once every 2.6 years, traveling from within the orbit of Planetary Defense Coordination Office at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. The Deep Space Network receives programmatic oversight from Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program office within the Space Operations Mission Directorate, also at the agency’s headquarters.