Asteroid passes within 12,000km of Earth
Yahoo!7 with Amy Simmons, ABC June 28, 2011, 9:47 am
If you blinked, you may have missed it - but stargazers caught a glimpse of a bus-sized asteroid zooming past the Earth this morning.
The asteroid, which passed within 12,000km of Earth, is a timely reminder there is more to our environment than meets the eye, astronomers say.
The 2011 MD asteroid, which is about the size of two buses, passed over Australia about 4am (AEST).
Experts said last week there was no chance of impact and Fred Watson from the Australian Astronomical Observatory said there wouldn't be much of a spectacle.
However, stargazers are expected to get another chance to spot the asteroid as it makes a second appearance on Wednesday. It still has no chance of striking the Earth, though, NBC LA reported.
Mr Watson said it looked similar to a shooting star, but will move much more gracefully across the sky.
Mr Watson says while 2011 MD passed "quite close" to the Earth, others have come much closer.
"There was another asteroid back in February this year which was down at 5500 kilometres," he said. "But even then, nothing happened really."
This asteroid is bigger than the one in February, but Mr Watson says there was still no chance it will enter the Earth's atmosphere.
Even if it did, he says 2011 MD would pose no threat to life on Earth.
"Absolutely no possibility," he said.
Mr Watson says the closeness of 2011 MD is a reminder to people that events on Earth have the potential to be shaped by asteroids -"like the annihilation of the dinosaurs".
"It reminds people we live in an environment littered with debris of this kind, which is actually the leftovers of the solar system's formation about 4.6 billion years ago," he said.
"It alerts people to the fact we live in a dynamic environment and space is worth watching."
He says astronomers are keeping a close eye on an asteroid called Apophis, which will come very close to the Earth in 2029.
"It's not impossible that something will collide with the Earth in the future. There are objects we know will present a potential threat," he said.
"In 2029 there is one that will pass very close to the Earth but probably won't hit the Earth. But depending on how near the Earth it goes, it might be deflected into an orbit that will take it onto a collision course, probably in the 2030s."
source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/9715244/asteroid-passes-close-to-earth
Yahoo!7 with Amy Simmons, ABC June 28, 2011, 9:47 am
If you blinked, you may have missed it - but stargazers caught a glimpse of a bus-sized asteroid zooming past the Earth this morning.
The asteroid, which passed within 12,000km of Earth, is a timely reminder there is more to our environment than meets the eye, astronomers say.
The 2011 MD asteroid, which is about the size of two buses, passed over Australia about 4am (AEST).
Experts said last week there was no chance of impact and Fred Watson from the Australian Astronomical Observatory said there wouldn't be much of a spectacle.
However, stargazers are expected to get another chance to spot the asteroid as it makes a second appearance on Wednesday. It still has no chance of striking the Earth, though, NBC LA reported.
Mr Watson said it looked similar to a shooting star, but will move much more gracefully across the sky.
Mr Watson says while 2011 MD passed "quite close" to the Earth, others have come much closer.
"There was another asteroid back in February this year which was down at 5500 kilometres," he said. "But even then, nothing happened really."
This asteroid is bigger than the one in February, but Mr Watson says there was still no chance it will enter the Earth's atmosphere.
Even if it did, he says 2011 MD would pose no threat to life on Earth.
"Absolutely no possibility," he said.
Mr Watson says the closeness of 2011 MD is a reminder to people that events on Earth have the potential to be shaped by asteroids -"like the annihilation of the dinosaurs".
"It reminds people we live in an environment littered with debris of this kind, which is actually the leftovers of the solar system's formation about 4.6 billion years ago," he said.
"It alerts people to the fact we live in a dynamic environment and space is worth watching."
He says astronomers are keeping a close eye on an asteroid called Apophis, which will come very close to the Earth in 2029.
"It's not impossible that something will collide with the Earth in the future. There are objects we know will present a potential threat," he said.
"In 2029 there is one that will pass very close to the Earth but probably won't hit the Earth. But depending on how near the Earth it goes, it might be deflected into an orbit that will take it onto a collision course, probably in the 2030s."
source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/9715244/asteroid-passes-close-to-earth
