The largest asteroid expected to pass by Earth this month has a traveling companion.

Asteroid 2016 AZ8 made its nearest swing by our planet in the 21st century early Monday. As it was approaching, astronomers were able to take a closer look. Radar images of the space rock acquired using the huge Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico show it is actually a binary system -- the main asteroid is orbited by a smaller boulder.

According to Arecibo, the larger asteroid could be 420 meters (1,378 feet) in diameter, nearly as wide as the Pentagon's headquarters and bigger than the Great Pyramid of Giza. The "moon" satellite circling it at a distance of about 400 meters (1,312 feet) is estimated to be around 180 meters (591 feet) wide.

Fortunately there's no reason to be freaked out because this duo's visit was actually at a comfortable distance of over 4.3 million km (2.7 million miles). It's also not expected to come any closer to us until at least the 23rd century, at which point we could be ready to build a cosmic truck stop on its surface.</s>50 Most Recent CBETs

Herein are links to the text of the most recently-issued. The circulars are displayed in reverse chronological order, with the date of issue being shown in YYYYMMDD form after the circular number.

CBET number: CBET index page including number:</s>The largest asteroid expected to pass by Earth this month has a traveling companion.

Asteroid 2016 AZ8 made its nearest swing by our planet in the 21st century early Monday. As it was approaching, astronomers were able to take a closer look. Radar images of the space rock acquired using the huge Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico show it is actually a binary system -- the main asteroid is orbited by a smaller boulder.

According to Arecibo, the larger asteroid could be 420 meters (1,378 feet) in diameter, nearly as wide as the Pentagon's headquarters and bigger than the Great Pyramid of Giza. The "moon" satellite circling it at a distance of about 400 meters (1,312 feet) is estimated to be around 180 meters (591 feet) wide.

Fortunately there's no reason to be freaked out because this duo's visit was actually at a comfortable distance of over 4.3 million km (2.7 million miles). It's also not expected to come any closer to us until at least the 23rd century, at which point we could be ready to build a cosmic truck stop on its surface.</s>Jan. 7 (UPI) -- With Hera, the European Space Agency is aiming to become the first to put a space probe in orbit around a binary asteroid system. When Hera launches in 2023, it will be carrying at least two CubeSats.

According to a new mission update, the two nanosatellites will be released into orbit around the pair of asteroids and eventually land on the two space rocks.

"We're very happy to have these high-quality CubeSat missions join us to perform additional bonus science alongside their Hera mothership," Hera mission manager Ian Carnelli said in a news release. "Carrying added instruments and venturing much closer to our target bodies, they will give different perspectives and complementary investigations on this exotic binary asteroid. They will also give us valuable experience of close proximity operations relayed by the Hera mothercraft in extreme low-gravity conditions. This will be very valuable to many future missions."

CubeSats are standardized mini satellites measuring roughly four by four by four inches. The toaster-like cubes have become popular tools for space research. Multiple CubeSats can be carried into space and released to form integrated constellations, acting on their own or in coordination with a larger probe.

Last year, a pair of CubeSats helped track the touchdown of NASA's Insight Lander.

"A lot of work went into designing and testing these components so that they could survive the trip to Mars and relay data during InSight's landing," Joel Krajewski, project manager on the MarCO mission and a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in May. "But our broader goal is to learn more about how to adapt CubeSat technologies for future deep-space missions."

The Didymos asteroid system consists of the minor-planet Didymos and its satellite, or minor-planet-moon, informally named Didymoon. Didymos completes a rotation every 2.26 hours, while its satellite completes an orbit every 11.9 hours. The system is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid and near-Earth object.

By the time Hera and its two CubeSats reach Didymos in 2026, the asteroid will be historic. If NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART mission, is a success, Didymos will be the first asteroid in history to have its orbital trajectory influenced by humans. NASA plans to crash a spacecraft into the surface of Didymos in an effort to redirect its orbital path into a less threatening pattern. The Hera mission will help measure the physical effects of the DART mission on Didymos.

The two CubeSats on the Hera mission with perform different scientific functions. The Asteroid Prospection Explorer, or APEX CubeSat, will use a spectrometer to analyze the sunlight bouncing off the surface of each of the two objects, characterizing differences in the two space rock's compositions.

The Juventas CubeSat will measure the two objects' gravity fields to help scientists gain a better understanding of the rocks' inner structures. Juventas will also coordinate with Hera, using satellite-to-satellite radio communication to execute a low-frequency radar survey of the asteroid system's internal makeup.</s>The asteroid, dubbed by NASA Asteroid 2018 YQ2, is expected to approach our home planet just after midnight. NASA’s asteroid experts at the California-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) predict YQ2 will flyby at 12.07am GMT (UTC) on Tuesday, January 8. During this flyby, the imposing asteroid will reach its closest possible distance to the planet – a so-called “Earth Close Approach”. The asteroid is not expected to hit the Earth anytime soon but tonight’s flyby will be the first of two incredibly close encounters this year.

NASA expects Asteroid YQ2 to visit the Earth again in eight months on the evening of August 26, 2019. And the asteroid’s impressive measurements are a good enough reason for NASA’s asteroid trackers to pay close attention to the space rock. NASA’s JPL scientists estimate YQ2 measures in the range of 52.5ft to 118.1ft (16m to 36m) in diameter. Any asteroid in this size range could pack enough force to cause injury and destruction upon atmospheric entry. READ MORE: Rogue asteroids could WIPE OUT life on Earth, warns Stephen Hawking

The 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor, which is estimated to have measured around 65.6ft (20m), injured more than 1,000 people in Russia when it exploded over Chelyabinsk. At the upper end of YQ2’s estimate, the space rock is about more than twice as tall as the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, is six-times as tall as an average giraffe and is nine-times longer than a Volkswagen Beatle. Thankfully, even at its closest, Asteroid YQ2 will miss the Earth completely by nearly two million miles. NASA believes the space rock will reach 0.01919 astronomical units (au) from the Earth – enough to dub it a “Near-Earth Object” (NEO) but not close enough to sound the alarm bells. READ MORE: Black hole in the middle of Milky Way could grow TENFOLD

One astronomical unit is the distance from Earth to the Sun and equals about 93 million miles (149.6 million km). Asteroid YQ2 will considerably cut this distance down tonight to just 1.78 million miles (2.87 million km).

This is roughly the equivalent of 7.47 Lunar Distances (LD) or 7.47-times the distance from Earth to the Moon. And the space rock will dash through space at breakneck speeds of more than 12,000mph or 5.68km per second. As they barrel through the solar system, NEOs like Asteroid YQ2 sometimes come close enough to our home world to spark interest from NASA. READ MORE: Was Einstein WRONG? Scientists probe supermassive BLACK HOLE to disprove theory of gravity</s>The largest asteroid expected to pass by Earth this month has a traveling companion.

Asteroid 2016 AZ8 made its nearest swing by our planet in the 21st century early Monday. As it was approaching, astronomers were able to take a closer look. Radar images of the space rock acquired using the huge Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico show it is actually a binary system -- the main asteroid is orbited by a smaller boulder.

According to Arecibo, the larger asteroid could be 420 meters (1,378 feet) in diameter, nearly as wide as the Pentagon's headquarters and bigger than the Great Pyramid of Giza. The "moon" satellite circling it at a distance of about 400 meters (1,312 feet) is estimated to be around 180 meters (591 feet) wide.

Fortunately there's no reason to be freaked out because this duo's visit was actually at a comfortable distance of over 4.3 million km (2.7 million miles). It's also not expected to come any closer to us until at least the 23rd century, at which point we could be ready to build a cosmic truck stop on its surface.</s>The US space agency is constantly on the look out for ways in which it can protect Earth from an asteroid strike, and believes it has the solution. NASA has already begun its design phase on a spacecraft known as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) which will be used to redirect an asteroids path, when the massive space rock inevitably heads towards our planet. Tests in outer space could begin as early as 2020 where it will attempt to move a “non-threatening” asteroid.

NASA said on its website: “DART is a planetary defence-driven test of one of the technologies for preventing the Earth impact of a hazardous asteroid: the kinetic impactor. “DART’s primary objective is to demonstrate a kinetic impact on a small asteroid. “The binary near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos is the target for DART.” The tester mission which actually see DART travel to an asteroid system made-up of two small space rocks known as Didymos A and B when they fly close to Earth between 2022 and 2024.

DART will then hit the smaller asteroid, which is about 160 metres in length, “nine times faster than a bullet, approximately 3.7 miles per second” according to a statement. Lindley Johnson, planetary defence officer at Nasa Headquarters in Washington, said: “DART would be NASA’s first mission to demonstrate what’s known as the kinetic impactor technique – striking the asteroid to shift its orbit – to defend against a potential future asteroid impact. “This approval step advances the project toward an historic test with a non-threatening small asteroid.”

Andy Cheng of The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, the DART investigation co-lead, said: “DART is a critical step in demonstrating we can protect our planet from a future asteroid impact. “Since we don’t know that much about their internal structure or composition, we need to perform this experiment on a real asteroid. “With DART, we can show how to protect Earth from an asteroid strike with a kinetic impactor by knocking the hazardous object into a different flight path that would not threaten the planet.”</s>Since their conception in 1998, The Asteroid No.4 have taken their far-out formula to myriad places, playing shows with pals The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Sonically they’re a bold bunch, so their sound has devolved in some less expected directions. For album number eight they returned to California in pursuit of countrified acoustics, distorted shoegaze and Ravi Shankar-esque Eastern trips. Elements from their whole career, essentially, in one progressive, far, far away hit – pretty and catchy one minute, woozily bewildering the next. Cue sitars, space rock and blasts of Jesus And Mary Chain-evoking power. But what’s interesting is how they remain very freaky, with a thread of solid, melodic Americana. You could almost be listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival or Fleetwood Mac in the acoustic strums and pretty twangs of The River. Heavier fuzz draws heady, uptempo numbers like Back Of Your Mind into shoegaze territory, and in Mount Meru, a cacophony of Eastern resonation and indecipherable chants leaves you with the feeling you’ve just found the Hare Krishna tent at some very beardy festival. Do not operate heavy machinery afterwards.</s>French technology company Parrot , the team behind the A.R Drone, wants to get people talking in the car, launching a new range of Android-powered car entertainment systems in Australia this month.

Although the new Asteroid systems all run Android under the hood, Parrot has customised the user interface and experience - similar to how Amazon customised Android for the Kindle Fire HD - to ensure the systems are all safe to use while driving.

The Asteroid system offers a range of standard car entertainment features, like Bluetooth handsfree, Parrot's voice recognition software for speech to text and music playback.

But by also connecting to the internet via either your smartphone's data connection or a USB dongle, the Asteroid platform also offers access to connected services like Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Deezer, as well as navigation apps iGo and Waze and news services like up to the minute weather information.

Parrot has created a free SDK to get developers in on the action, hoping that there will a selection of apps specifically made to help a driver. Rather than work off a 70/30 profit split like Apple and Google, Parrot is just hoping to create an ecosystem for drivers with a range of apps to make

There are four models in the new asteroid range, all requiring professional installation. Two models - the Asteroid Mini and Asteroid Tablet - connect to your vehicle's current sound system and add an additional touchscreen that mounts on your dashboard for easy viewing of information.

The Mini features a 3.2-inch touchscreen with wireless remote control and starts at $399. The Tablet, meanwhile, increases the screen size to five inches, offers advanced audio settings and is priced at $549.

The other two models - the Asteroid Classic and the Asteroid Smart - replace your car's current head unit, as a single DIN and double DIN screen.

For anyone who bought the 2011 model Asteroid Classic, a firmware update will soon be available to deliver the new connected features.

New Classics will set you back $449, and includes a 3.2-inch colour screen and full audio controls. The double DIN Asteroid Smart, meanwhile, allows you to simultaneously connect two smartphones, controlling the device using your voice or the 6.2-inch touchscreen, and sells for $999.</s>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An asteroid-circling spacecraft has captured a cool snapshot of home.

NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft took the picture days before going into orbit around asteroid Bennu on New Year’s Eve.

The tiny asteroid — barely one-third of a mile (500 metres) across — appears as a big bright blob in the long-exposure photo released last week. Seventy million miles (110 million kilometres) away, Earth appears as a white dot, with the moon an even smaller dot but still clearly visible.

Osiris-Rex is the first spacecraft to orbit such a small celestial body, and from such a close distance — about a mile (1,600 metres) out.

Next year, Osiris-Rex will attempt to gather some samples from the carbon-rich asteroid, for return to Earth in 2023.
The asteroid 6478 Gault, 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) in diameter, is found to have been impacted by another large (>500 metres (>0.31 miles)) asteroid in late October 2018, the largest asteroid-to-asteroid collision in recorded history.