The three-mile-long chunk of space rock that swung past Earth early this week never got closer than a distance of about four million miles, but NASA scientists still managed to catch it on tape.
On December 12 and 13, scientists aimed NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar precisely at the passing asteroid, and used the returning radio-waves to build detailed pictures of the object's surface. They then assembled all those still frames into two short video clips.
There's just something amazing about watching a rock spin through space millions of miles away:
Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.


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Gad! Zoooks! Where is my grappling hook? We on Earth need to latch onto that thing and make a super Yo-Yo to solve all our energy needs!
By the way, I am really glad we can see an object clearly millions of miles away. Nice going NASA! ;)
I thought Nibiru would be bigger....And less fuzzy....(Sigh)....What a disappointment...
When you can see them that clear, they are too close!
cholin3947, RADAR isn't known for clarity of image at long distances. I imagine at 4,000,000 miles, your photograph and the Nibiru image would appear much the same. ;)
A chinese probe as taken a better photo of the asteroid : http://space.perraudin.fr
One of them will strike one day, it's just a question of time...And Nibiru is made from dark matter, that's why we won't detect it until it's too late :-) 6 days and counting and I'm out of my misery! :-)
How did the Mayans know the Twinkie factory was going to close too?
It seems NASA has found a giant Twinkie in space being sent to us from aliens!
We are saved! We are saved!
Hurray!!!!!
This is simply amazing!!!