14 DAY TRIAL // This past Monday night, February 17, an asteroid that some stargazers like to refer to not by its official name, i.e. 200 EM26, but as “Moby Dick,” was supposed to fly by our planet at a distance of about 2.1 million miles (3.4 million kilometers).
However, it never showed up, and scientists are unable to figure out why it was that the long-awaited asteroid bailed on them, Live Science reports.
According to the same source, they are now asking that amateur astronomers lend them a helping hand determining where Moby Dick currently is and where it might be heading.
“We are calling on amateur astronomers to find this asteroid, and as a reward we will promote their accomplishment on our homepage for one year,” Slooh CEO Michael Paolucci said in a statement.
“Discovering these near-Earth objects isn’t enough. We not only need to find them before they find us, but we also need to keep a watchful eye on them,” added Slooth Observatory Director Paul Cox.
What he means is that, to be prepared for incidents such as the so-called Russian fireball that shook up the Chelyabinsk region in last year's February, it is important to know what asteroids are up to.
“Moby Dick” was first documented by scientists back in 2000. By the looks of it, the asteroid does not like being closely observed all that much.
Hence, it disappeared from sight on March 14, just 14 days after researchers became aware of its existence, and has never again shown its face in public since then.
It is estimated to measure about 885 feet (approximately 270 meters) in width, but other than this, there is not all that much that specialists know about it.
All things considered, it is possible that the asteroid was not observed this past February 17 due to the fact that scientists still lack information concerning its orbit and are therefore unable to keep tabs on its movements.