Space Weather News for April 17, 2007

ASTEROID FLYBY: Newly discovered asteroid 2007 HA is flying past Earth today about 2.5 million kilometers away. There's no danger of a collision, but it is an interesting flyby: the asteroid is big (300 meters wide), bright (13th to 14th magnitude), and an easy target for large backyard telescopes. A beautiful movie of 2007 HA streaking among the stars of Virgo on April 16th is featured on today's edition of
http://spaceweather.com; tonight the asteroid cuts through the Big Dipper where undoubtedly it will be photographed by many astronomers.

CRESCENT MOON: A super-slender crescent Moon emerges from the glare of the sun this evening, April 17th, and will proceed over the next few nights to glide by Comet 2P/Encke, the Pleiades star cluster and the planet Venus. Visit http://spaceweather.com daily for sky maps and observing tips.