An asteroid roughly the size of an RV will just miss our planet sometime around 1PM ET today.
Called 2011 MD, the 30ft rock will pass just 7,600 miles from the Earth’s surface – a very close shave in astronomical terms. According to NASA, there’s no chance of it actually hitting – and even if it did, we could expect nothing more than a spectacular fireball burning up in the atmosphere.
What’s perhaps a bit more scary is that this little guy was only discovered last week. As the Washington Post points out, smaller asteroids are notoriously difficult to spot early on; as opposed to their giant, species killing cousins (say the 112-mile wide monster that may have wiped out the dinosaurs). But, there are some that can slip under our radar. From the site:
On March 2, 2009 an asteroid about 200 feet wide buzzed by Earth only a few days after being discovered. Its closest approach was 40,000 miles, seemingly a safe distance, but a close call in astronomical terms. Had it struck the earth it would have exploded with the force of a large nuclear bomb on or just about the surface – with ONLY 3 days notice.
Yikes. Check out some cool animations of 2011 MD flyby (including from the rock’s perspective) by jumping here.
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About Michael dEstries
Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.View all posts by Michael dEstries →
