75 Foot Asteroid Almost hit the Earth
A small asteroid, estimated between 16 and 65 feet in diameter, crossed the Earth this afternoon – missing by 12,231 Kilometer.
US space agency NASA had earlier predicted no probability of the asteroid striking the Earth. NASA’s tweeted last week:
[quote]There is no chance that 2011 MD will hit Earth but scientists will use the close pass as opportunity to study it w/ radar observations.”[/quote]
Peter Lake blogged from Australia that he captured images of the asteroid streaking across on the sky on the evening of June 26. Lake’s photos were taken using a 20-inch telescope in New Mexico controlled with his iPhone.
NASA said that an object the size of Asteroid 2011 MD is expected to come this close to Earth about every six years on average. Scientists say that when Asteroid 2011 MD makes another pass in 2022, an impact with Earth is possible. A larger, 1,300-foot asteroid, Asteroid 2005 YU55, is expected to flash past Earth on Nov. 8, 2011.
