Asteroid passes close to Earth

By Alan Duke
CNN

(CNN) -- You had a close encounter with a 40-yard-wide asteroid this week, but the astronomer who first spotted the large rock said it's nothing to worry about.



Asteroid 2009 DD45 on Monday passed within 38,000 miles of Earth, less than twice the height of the geostationary satellites we depend on for communications, according to Robert McNaught of the Australian National University.

McNaught, who watches for asteroids with his telescope 250 miles northwest of Sydney, Australia, discovered the approaching rock last week.

"It's not something to worry about, but something to be aware of," he said.

While a direct hit on Earth could be a devastating natural disaster, McNaught said keeping track of asteroids can make a hit "potentially preventable."

Many scientists agree that Apophis warrants closer scrutiny and, to that end, in February 2008 the Planetary Society awarded $50,000 in prize money to companies and students who submitted designs for space probes that would put a tracking device on or near the asteroid.[7]

It is only a matter of time.

I'm going to have to call bullshit here. What exactly could we do (other than send Bruce Willis up there after it) to prevent an asteroid from hitting us?

I'm going to have to call bullshit here. What exactly could we do (other than send Bruce Willis up there after it) to prevent an asteroid from hitting us?

I'm going to have to call bullshit here. What exactly could we do (other than send Bruce Willis up there after it) to prevent an asteroid from hitting us?

Actually, there is a program, according to Neil deGrasse Tyson (great guy) studying ways to avert impending asteroids. Really, according to him, blasting it to pieces does nothing besides make hundreds of slightly smaller asteroids. Oops. The way he is most hopeful about is using a probe to give it a slight nudge to change its orbit.

Using a probe to give it a slight nudge, you say? Interesting indeed.

What are we supposed to do to "prepare" for this?

Before it happens again, like it has happened before thousands of times.

Just look up at the moon.

I'm going to have to call bullshit here. What exactly could we do (other than send Bruce Willis up there after it) to prevent an asteroid from hitting us?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-ReuLZ2quc

Found it.

What are we supposed to do to "prepare" for this?

My buddy said the dust would block out the sun and we'd get another ice age. Time to break out the tools again

Aw crap! I HATE it when I choose a sport only to find out that it'll become obsolete in less than 30 years.





I want my rock back. sniff, sniff, SNORT, sniff.

dude, look on the brioght side. after the biggie whacks the earth, and once the motlen crust cools down and the dust resettles from teh sky, there's will be assloads of new formations to climb. FA PARTY!!!!

hey rrradam, this was over three weeks ago. rc.knob soapbox fails as much as much as the news outlets?

If you look at the date the linked article was written, it is dated March 3. I recall reading about the asteroid, which would have been roughly equivalent to that which hit Siberia in 1908, a few weeks ago, then being amazed that none of the major news outlets covered it.