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Small Asteroid Making 400,000 Mile Pass By Earth

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the summon-bruce-willis dept.

AtariKee writes "Universe Today is reporting that a small 10m asteroid, discovered earlier this month and named 2009 BD, is passing within 400,000 miles of Earth. Although the asteroid poses no threat to the planet, the site reports that the asteroid is still very interesting, as it may be a rare co-orbital asteroid (as in, shares the same orbit as Earth)."

4 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Let's land on it. by FredFredrickson · · Score: 5, Funny

    Am I the only one who thinks we should attempt to land on it and stage an emergency scenerio drill, just to prepare for the day when there is an armageddon-destined asteriod?

    --
    Belief? Hope? Preference?The Existential Vortex
    1. Re:Let's land on it. by mea37 · · Score: 5, Funny

      With an asteroid that small, it would be debatable whether the ship landed on it, or the other way around...

      So I guess you'd have to use a soyuz.

      (Get it? Because in soviet russia... Never mind.)

    2. Re:Let's land on it. by Tybalt_Capulet · · Score: 5, Funny

      Easy, I used to land on womp rats back hope with my t-16, and they're no wider than 10m.

      --
      Has the old saint in his forest not yet heard of it? That God is dead?
  2. Mining NEOs? by A.+B3ttik · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Having NEOs in stable orbits around the Earth could be of benefit to mankind in the future as missions can be planned, possibly sending mining missions to these rocky visitors so we can tap their resources.

    The Near-Earth-Objects in question are only 10m and 20m in diameter. How would it be of any benefit to us to mine resources from these? Surely it would cost far more in resources to -get- there.

    Or do these NEOs have some kind of exotic resource that I am unaware of?