The so-called "cosmic peanut» is heading for one of its closest visits to our planet. This asteroid, whose silhouette resembles a nut due to its two joined lobes, has passed a safety distance of about three million kilometers, the approximate equivalent of eight lunar distances.
Observations with the Goldstone Solar System Radar, operated by NASA's Deep Space Network, have allowed the object to be X-rayed in unusual detail. Although it is classified as potentially dangerous Due to its size and the proximity of its orbit, this step does not pose a threat; on the contrary, it offers a remarkable scientific opportunity as it is the closest documented approach for more than three centuries.
What has been seen of the "cosmic peanut"
The latest estimates place its length at around 200 meters and a rotation period of approximately 4,8h, typical values for a medium-sized rocky body.
The form responds to what is known as contact binary: two blocks acting as one, with one lobe approximately twice as large as the other. This type of morphology, far from being rare, appears in about 15% of near-Earth asteroids greater than 200 meters.
On its surfaces you can see concavities of tens of meters, possible scars from ancient collisions or material rearrangement processes, which help to reconstruct its evolution over millions of years.
The radar has provided images with a resolution of up to 7,5 meters per pixel, sufficient to profile geometry, spin orientation, and other physical parameters with less uncertainty.
Distance, dates and how it was observed
The closest approach occurred on August 20th, 2025, when the object passed about 3.000.000 kilometers from our planet, a wide separation in astronomical terms and the closest on record since at least the 17th century.
A few hours later, the August 21th, XNUMX, Goldstone obtained 28 images high-resolution images that show their silhouette from different angles, which reinforces the shape and rotation models developed by the scientific teams.
With these radar echoes it has been possible fine-tune its orbit and significantly reduce the uncertainty about its future trajectory, a key improvement for creating anniversaries and planning new observations with greater precision.
What is the purpose of studying this approach?
This work is part of the Near Earth Object Observation Program and the Planetary Defense Office NASA, where radar is an essential tool for measuring distances and speeds with great precision.
Every close encounter serves as testing bench: allows us to validate procedures, evaluate response times and study how an asteroid of this size would interact in the event of an accident. diversion mission, if ever necessary.
Beyond the applied aspect, these data enrich knowledge about the population of medium-sized asteroids and its dynamics, key aspects for understanding the history and evolution of the minor bodies of the Solar System.
After this uneventful passage, the "cosmic peanut" will continue its trip around the Sun While the scientific community It exploits the information obtained: safe distance, high-resolution radar images, and a better-characterized orbit that reinforces our surveillance of the sky without setting off unnecessary alarms.
