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Small Asteroid To Pass Close To Earth Tomorrow

Posted by Soulskill on from the bruce-willis-alert-color-mauve dept.

Matt_dk writes "A small asteroid will pass very close to Earth this Tuesday. Astronomers are still tracking the object, now designated as 2010 TD54, and various estimates say it should come within anywhere from 52,000 km (33,000 miles) to 64,000 km (40,000 miles) on October 12, with closest approach at approximately 11:25 UT."

3 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. Just in case... by kellyb9 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please place Bruce Willis on standby.

  2. Not a lot of advance warning... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I was kinda alarmed when I read the name "2010 T" which means it was discovered in the first half of October, 2010 (as opposed to discovered in the second half via time travel). And in fact TFA says it was discovered Oct 9.

    TFA also says it's a pretty small asteroid only a few meters across, which is a pretty good excuse for not finding it sooner (and makes it Mostly Harmless), but still... More funding to asteroid finding/tracking pls thx.

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are
  3. Comparisons by pgn674 · · Score: 5, Informative

    International Space Station: 229 miles
    Geosynchronous orbit: 26,200 miles
    Moon: 236,216 miles