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Toutatis



 Toutatis (asteroid 4,179) was discovered in 1989. It is named after the Celtic god Toutatis, whose name is used as an oath by the comic strip character Asterix the Gaul. Toutatis measures 4.6 by 2.4 by 1.9 km . It passes Earth every four years and is one of the largest space objects to come so close to us. On 29 September 2004 Toutatis came within 1,555,818 km of Earth. Its next visit will be on 9 November 2008, when it will come within 7,524,773 km.
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