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Missing Potential Earth-Busting Asteroid Found

Posted by Zonk on from the that's-a-froo dept.

Billosaur writes "A potentially disastrous 40-year-old mystery has been solved: Where is asteroid 6344 P-L? Back in 1960, asteroid 6344 P-L was identified and classified as a 'Potentially Hazardous Asteroid,' meaning that its orbit brings it perilously close to Earth's orbit (on the cosmic scale). Unfortunately, it then disappeared, or more precisely, was lost from view. Flash forward to 2007 and scientists believe that 6344 P-L has been rediscovered as 2007 RR9. Further, they are not sure it is an actual asteroid, but actually a comet fragment, which won't hit the Earth anytime soon but bears watching."

4 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. So close by techpawn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    it's still .7 units away. We just happen to know where it is now...

    --
    Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
    1. Re:So close by sckeener · · Score: 2, Interesting

      so we're talking about an object which has passed within 2 moon-lengths from us during observation.

      If it comes that close again, we should land something on it.

      --
      "Only one thing, is impossible for god: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain
  2. OT: slashdot, allright by l3v1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'll be off topic, but I still have to say, it's not even funny anymore when I see this story got tagged as: science, space, linuxbites, linuxisinsecure, linuxsucks Get a grip already.

    --
    I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
    1. Re:OT: slashdot, allright by Born2bwire · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, we already moderate the comments so I guess we need to start moderating the tags. But then we need to moderate the people that moderate the tags because we already moderate the comment moderators. But then who moderates those that moderate the moderators? You know, this site wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the posters.