China's satellite will be at the closest point Toutatis on December 13, 2012, which is within a few hundred kilometers from the Asteroid Toutatis. Because these satellites nearby dining China Asteroid Toutatis has a chance to shoot better, shooting Asteroid Toutatis actually started by the Goldstone radio telescope. The image resolution has, at 7.5 meters / pixel, later with the proximity is expected to capture images with a resolution of 3.75 meters / pixel.
Forms Potatoes
Asteroid Toutatis is unique because it looks like a potato. According Ma'rufin Sudibyo amateur astronomer, asteroid was first imaged by the Goldstone radio telescope in 1992 made the scientists shocked. Asteroid Toutatis was like two large stone bonded with imperfect.
"The form is certainly very surprising, given the previous imagination, asteroid Toutatis and also in general, considered to be shaped like a ball with a face full of pockmarks," he explained.
Observations are being conducted by the scientists, it Toutatis not just one. There are other asteroids with similar form, for example and Itokawa asteroid Cleopatra and core Borrely and Hartley 2 comet.
Ma'rufin said that Toutatis has a shape like a potato for allegedly derived from the combined two asteroids. Two asteroids have orbits distinct, but intersecting. Approximately 100 million years ago, the two met and formed Toutatis.
The merger itself can occur because both the velocity is relatively small. If both are moving at high speed, it is not a merger happens, but destruction. True or not the theory can be tested by observations of asteroids the next two days.
Asteroid Toutatis approaches Earth once every 4 years. At the closest point later, this asteroid will be within 6.95 million km from Earth.
Source: KompasTekno
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