Solar System . Volcanoes 101 . Site map . 08.27.99 Astronomers have obtained the most detailed pictures yet of an asteroid which earlier this month passed within 5.3 million miles of Earth, equivalent to the distance from Earth to the Moon 22 times. The asteroid's orbit takes it across the path of Earth's orbit, but at a time when Earth is elsewhere in its yearly trip around the Sun .
Researchers say there is no chance of the asteroid hitting Earth in the next few centuries.
Asteroid 1999 JM8 in a radar image. The odd-shaped asteroid is called 1999 JM8, and it has several dips and crevices that researchers don't yet understand. Asteroids are known to tumble, or spin, as they move through space. Researchers aren't sure why some asteroids rotate more slowly than others. The newly imaged asteroid is similar to another slow-rotator called Toutatis.