Sky-watchers in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands welcomed a surprise guest earlier today: an asteroid that passed just 41,010 miles (66,000 kilometers) above Earth.
Discovered only days ago, asteroid 2009 DD45 zipped between our planet and the moon at 13:44 universal time (8:44 a.m. ET). The asteroid was moving at about 12 miles (20 kilometers) a second when it was closest to Earth.
“We get objects passing fairly close, or closer than this, every few months,” Timothy Spahr, director of the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center in Massachusetts, said in an email.
“Also, though, note these are only the ones that are discovered. Many more pass this close undetected”—as asteroid 2009 DD45 nearly did.
Astronomers didn’t notice the oncoming asteroid until February 28, when it showed up as a faint dot in pictures taken at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia.
“We get objects passing fairly close, or closer than this, every few months,”
That explains it all.
Are you going to use the same childish “Surprise Asteroid Just Buzzed Earth — Almost Killing Us ALL!!!” header every few months?
Our detection tools are getting more advanced every year. While 50 years ago we were basically blind as to what is flying out there, nowadays we can trace shit leaving ISS.
So, you bet in few years we will discover even more of such asteroids “nearly killing us all” on a daily basis.
That asteroid only missed us by 5 diameters of the Earth. That is a pretty damn close call.
“Missed it by that much…”
With Bush’s track record for attracting disasters, you know the outcome would have been different not 45 days ago.
Wait … wasn’t this the test that Joe Biden alluded to last year?
LoL #1, can’t you tell when it is sarcasm on teh interwebz?
Of course they don’t have clue as to its composition, which is key in figuring its damage potential…
#6
I can, but can Dvorak?
🙂
This is exactly why I don’t worry about so called climate change.
One of these meteors could change everything instantly or the sun could cease to generate sun spots like it is now and begin the new ice age.
#9
You left out “the Rupture” 😉
Never fear! Paddy-O is an expert in asteriod risk analysis! All we need is a hyperecombobulator to provide the mass spectrum compositional analysis and he’ll be able to figure out its damage potential and save us! And all without a flux capacitor!
We must reverse the polarity.
#11 Hugh Ripper
Paddy’s statement is far more accurate and relevant than your petulant response.
You obviously know very little about risk analysis.
I’m guessing you know even less about materials composition or you would know that a ten mile long chunk of ice would do a lot less damage than nickel iron.
While both would be a bad thing when it struck the atmosphere one would be substantially worse.
Oh darn, they missed….
#13 When was the last time a chunk of ice was detected flying though space, apart from comets?
As for risk analysis, if we can see the friggen thing till it hits us, we dont know where it will land and theres no way to know what its made of, whats the point? It will either kill us all or it wont.
We don’t have time for extinction! We’re too damned busy trying to kill each other as it is!!!
It’s obvious why these hack scientist missed it. They were too busy making up bogus global warming stats and were too preoccupied to look up at the sky.
It would be a GAS if a meteor did fall and land on Mister MusTURD.
Does this explain how the chinese drove their lunar lander into the moon? Rubbernecking the big rock flying by and forgot to pay attention to the deceleration burn.
Headline by Chicken Little.
#10
“the Rupture”
Sounds painful! Visit an Internist quick!
And Obama raised his hands and said “Stop!” and the asteroid was deflected harmlessly away.
What next ?
Are giant lizards going to come off the asteroids and do us all in ?
Now THAT’S a stimulus package.
#24,
Thats what she said!
C’mon, let’s be serious, it wouldn’t kill us all, it would only be able to do damage on a Tunguska scale – like a big nuclear blast. Could wipe out a large city but not ‘kill us all’.
However, there’s asteroids out there that could even do worse than kill us all…
#22
hahaha
but
quit citing New York Times!
Meanwhile, while we’re all gazing skywards at something that heppens every few weeks, someone’s slipping through a bill to make it legal to take money out of our back pockets while we’re gazing skywards.
#29
“our back pockets” is very very incorrect.
Yesterday’s debt already carries to the next generation.
This new stimulus can’t be paid until children of children of our grandchildren mature and pay taxes. Thats with silly assumption that none of the next generations won’t add to it any penny 😀
Somebody warn Moonbase Alpha!