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(meteorobs) ASTEROID TO PASS EXCEEDINGLY CLOSE . . . IN 2027
The following news item came over the news wire here at Newschannel 12 this
afternoon. Hope you all find this interesting. -- joe rao
In the cosmic equivalent of a bullet whizzing by Earth's ear, a
half-mile-wide asteroid looks as if it will come closer to smashing into our
planet than any other space rock astronomers have tracked.
It won't hit Earth . . . but its arrival in 28 years will be a very visible
reminder that space can be a dangerous place.
After computing a new path for the dangerous rock, scientists at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory have just determined that the asteroid will come
exceedingly close -- but definitely not hit -- Earth on August 7, 2027.
The asteroid -- called 1999AN10 -- could swing as close as 19,000 miles to
Earth. That's just one-twelfth the distance between here and the Moon!
"It is indeed very interesting," said Paul Chodas, a research scientist in
NASA's Near Earth Object tracking office. "We're taking it very seriously."
Because this is an asteroid that was discovered only this past January,
astronomers aren't exactly certain how close the call will be. While 19,000
miles is the closest it can come in 2027, it could miss by as much as 600,000
miles. The most likely miss will be by a scant 32,000 miles, Chodas said.
Astronomers are certain it won't hit Earth because its current path and pull
of gravity put it on a track that cannot intersect with Earth's orbit, Chodas
said.
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