While all eyes were on the nonevent taking place in the Hudson Valley of New York (and elsewhere), there was quite the show taking place above that taunting canopy of clouds.
That’s right, I’m talking about the flyby of Asteroid 2004 BL86.
This little world blasted past our very own Earth and if you were lucky and had the right viewing opportunities, you could see it. I’d been hoping for a clear sky, as I’d been itching to take the new Celestron out behind the garage and see what I could see. Alas, it wasn’t to be – clouds with a tiny sprinkling of snow dropping from them – but that hasn’t stopped my fascination with BL86.
Take a look at the NASA/JPL film I’ve enclosed with this blog, as well as this excellent link from the same source. BL86 is a round asteroid with its own munchkin moon, which I find utterly charming. That moon isn’t much larger than our back yard, and here it is, making a name for itself while partnering with BL86 as it graces our solar system. True, it came within 745,000 miles/1.2 million kilometers of the Earth. That only means it stayed far away enough to mind its own business yet close enough to give us a good flirt and a wink.
Can you imagine if you were one of the inhabitants of that tiny world? How your view changes as the days whirr past while zipping through the solar system. It’s almost as if it’s shouting “wheee!” as it goes on its tilted orbit around the sun, waving hello every now and again.
If you have enough patience to wait until 2027, there might be a second opportunity to see yet another asteroid, 1999 AN10, grace our planet with its near presence. It, too, is expected to pass rather close…and raising the inevitable alarms that it has the potential to blast us out of existence.
Ah well.
Until then, keep your eyes to the skies, and always continue to be surprised!
Moon, Stars and Beyond 
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