2014 JO25 Contact Binary Asteroid

Discovered by CSS observer Al Grauer, radar images of object 2014 JO25 reveal a contact binary asteroid

Animated radar observations of asteroid 2014 JO25 acquired from the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico indicate it is double-lobed and nearly a mile (1.3 km) long. Image via Planetary Radar Science Group.

This composite of 30 images of asteroid 2014 JO25 reveals that it's a contact binary asteroid. The imagery were generated with radar data collected using NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California's Mojave Desert.  NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, manages and operates NASA's Deep Space Network, including the Goldstone Solar System Radar, and hosts the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies for NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program within the agency's Science Mission Directorate.  JPL hosts the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies for NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program within the agency's Science Mission Directorate.