The Big Asteroid That Just Buzzed Earth Has Its Own Little Moon

Grainy Images Reveal Tiny Moon Orbiting Big Asteroid

Well, that's a surprise.

The big asteroid that just gave Earth a close shave has its own little moon.

The moon measures only about 230 feet across but is plainly visible in new radar images of asteroid 2004 BL86 taken during its flyby (see video above).

(Story continues below GIF.)

As for the asteroid, the grainy black-and-white images indicate that it's about 1,100 feet across.

The asteroid made its closest approach to Earth at 11:19 EST on Jan. 26 at a distance of only 745,000 miles--or about 3.1 times the distance from our planet to our much bigger Moon.

The images were made by scientists using NASA's 230-foot-wide Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif.

Before You Go

Artist's impression of giant planetoid hitting Earth

Astounding asteroid craters

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