From Space.com:
A Newfound Asteroid Just Buzzed Harmlessly By Earth
An asteroid gave Earth a close shave Sunday (Aug. 28), just a day after astronomers first spotted the object.
The newfound asteroid 2016 QA2 zoomed within 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers) or so of the planet Sunday. For perspective, the moon orbits Earth at an average distance of 239,000 miles (384,600 km).
Astronomers think 2016 QA2 is between 80 and 180 feet (25 to 55 meters) wide. That means the space rock is slightly bigger than the object that exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in February 2013, injuring more than 1,200 people.
The Chelyabinsk asteroid was probably 65 feet (20 m) or so in diameter when it hit Earth's atmosphere, scientists have said. (The Chelyabinsk object exploded high above the ground, generating a powerful shock wave that shattered thousands of windows. The injuries — none of which were fatal — were cuts caused by flying glass.)
That would give me a case of the willies - to discover a new asteroid and realize that it was coming very close to Earth in a day or two. Double-check my math on those calculations...
This is the sort of thing that we really need to be worrying about - not the possible effect of some small measure of CO2 gas.
Leave a comment