A mini-satellite was found in an asteroid flying past Earth.

The asteroid 2004 BL86, which flew past the Earth, discovered a small satellite .



Asteroid 2004 BL86 has a diameter of about 325 meters, and its satellite is about 70 meters. It passed at a minimum distance of 1.2 million km from Earth yesterday at 19:19 Moscow time, but reached its maximum brightness today at about 9:00 am (magnitude +9.0). He still has a few hours at maximum brightness, so do not miss the last chance to observe 2004 BL86 through a telescope.

Astronomers from the Deep Space Network have published the first images from the radar, which shows a small asteroid companion. 20 individual images were taken with a resolution of 4 meters per pixel.
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Scientists note that in asteroids larger than 200 m, a double or triple system occurs in about 16% of cases. So this event is not very unique, but still quite rare.

2004 BL86 - the largest asteroid that flies so close to the Earth in the coming years. The next such event is expected no later than 2027, when the 1999 AN10 will visit us.

So far, 240 asteroids with one satellite, 10 with two satellites, are known. The dwarf planet Pluto with five satellites stands apart. See the full list of satellite asteroids .