Earth's encounter with a space rock the size of a bus was pretty close on Monday - it came closer than the moon. The asteroid, 2011 MD, could have made a huge crater if it had hit the planet.
"Sooner or later," an expert told National Geographic, "a bigger one is going to hit us."
Thanks for that!
You'll have to concentrate to spot 2011 MD in the video.
ORIGINAL ASTEROID STORY - Asteroid heading for Earth - don't panic
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STORY - Asteroid Just Buzzed Earth
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Showing posts with label space rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label space rock. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Asteroid heading for Earth on Monday - don't panic!
An asteroid is heading for Earth, says NASA, for a close encounter on Monday.
But, as CBS reports, there's no need to panic. It's close in astronomical terms, but not that close - about 7,500 miles above the planet's surface over the Atlantic Ocean at 13.30 GMT.
The space rock, about 33ft long and called "2011 MD", won't hold this year's record for coming near us. Another one flew by within 3,400 miles (5,500 kilometers) - that's less than the distance between London to New York (3,471 miles)!
According to the report from Pasadena, California, more than "8,000 near-Earth objects" have been discovered, with around 1,236 designated as "potentially hazardous".
CBS REPORT
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Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
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But, as CBS reports, there's no need to panic. It's close in astronomical terms, but not that close - about 7,500 miles above the planet's surface over the Atlantic Ocean at 13.30 GMT.
The space rock, about 33ft long and called "2011 MD", won't hold this year's record for coming near us. Another one flew by within 3,400 miles (5,500 kilometers) - that's less than the distance between London to New York (3,471 miles)!
According to the report from Pasadena, California, more than "8,000 near-Earth objects" have been discovered, with around 1,236 designated as "potentially hazardous".
CBS REPORT
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Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix
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