Editing 4179 Toutatis (section)

== Observation ==

Toutatis has been observed with radar imaging from the [[Arecibo Observatory]] and the [[Goldstone Solar System Radar]] during the asteroid's prior Earth flybys in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. It was also observed with radar during the December 2012 flyby and observed more distant flyby with radar in December 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/Toutatis2012/Toutatis2012_planning.html |title=2012 Goldstone Radar Observations of (4179) Toutatis |access-date=2012-11-15}}</ref> After 2016, Toutatis will not pass close to Earth again until 2069.<ref name=jpl-close />

Resolution of the radar images is as fine as 3.75&nbsp;m per pixel,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/12dec_toutatis/ |title=Big Asteroid Tumbles Harmlessly Past Earth |website=[[NASA]] |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> providing data to model Toutatis's shape and spin state.