Camarillo Observatory - Founded 1992

Apollo Asteroid 2003 DW₁₀ Imaged at 1.4 Lunar Distances!

4 March 2003

At a  little over 1.4 times the distance to the Moon and moving over three degrees per hour, this tiny asteroid quietly passed the Earth during the early morning of 3 March 2003.  The picture below shows the asteroid just three hours prior to closest approach.  Although this was a relatively close passage, the asteroid, approximately 25 meters in size, is too small to be considered hazardous to our planet.

Less than two dozen asteroids are known to have come this close to the Earth.  Last summer, 2002 NY₄₀ passed at the same distance.  Due to its size and resulting brightness, it was visually observed by many amateur astronomers around the globe.

The last observations of 2003 DW₁₀ were reported from Camarillo Observatory.  After this picture was taken, the asteroid quickly faded in brightness as it returned to the depths of space, where it will remain lost for many decades to come.

2003 DW₁₀
2003 March 03
03:13:29 UTC

To obtain this picture, the telescope was tracked on the motion of the asteroid during the 10 second exposure.  Therefore it appears as a dot at the center of the image while the stars appear as streaks.

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