Here we go again: Big asteroid set to buzz Earth

March 7, 2013 – SPACE – A newly discovered asteroid the size of a football field will cruise through Earth’s neighborhood this weekend, just days after another space rock made an even closer approach to our planet. The 330-foot-wide (100 meters) asteroid 2013 ET will miss Earth by 600,000 miles (960,000 kilometers) when it zips by on Saturday. The space rock flyby will come just days after the 33-foot (10 m) asteroid 2013 EC approached within 230,000 miles (370,000 km) of us early Monday. When asteroid 2013 ET passes Earth, it will be at a range equivalent to 2.5 times the distance between the planet and the moon, making it too faint and far away for most stargazers to spot in the night sky. But the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy, run by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, will webcast a live telescope view of the space rock’s flyby on Friday, beginning at 2 p.m. EST. There is no danger that 2013 ET will hit Earth, researchers say, just as 2013 EC posed no threat. But their flybys are slightly unsettling nonetheless, since both asteroids were discovered mere days ago. Indeed, many space rocks are hurtling undetected through Earth’s neck of the cosmic woods. Astronomers estimate that the number of near-Earth asteroids tops 1 million, but just 9,700 have been discovered to date. Undetected objects can strike Earth without warning, as the surprise meteor explosion over Russia last month illustrated. The 55-foot (17 m) asteroid that caused the Feb. 15 Russian fireball detonated in the atmosphere before astronomers even knew it existed. While many scientists stress the urgent need for expanded and improved asteroid-detection efforts, there is some good news: Humanity is unlikely to go the way of the dinosaurs anytime soon. NASA researchers have identified and mapped the orbits of 95 percent of the 980 or so near-Earth asteroids at least 0.6 miles (1 km) wide, which could threaten human civilization if they hit us. None of these behemoths are on a collision course with Earth in the foreseeable future. For comparison, the asteroid believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago likely measured about 6 miles (10 km) across, scientists say. -MSNBC

Asteroid Nicknamed “The Beast” To Barely Miss Earth Tomorrow

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NASA says Asteroid 2014 HQ 124, also known as The Beast, will come incredibly close to our cozy home planet on Sunday. We’re in no imminent danger—or so scientists say!—but the stadium-size terror will apparently come within 777,000 miles of Earth. Not very close in the context we typically associate with distance. But in space lingo, that’s precariously close—about three times the distance to our moon. Just look at that chart NASA drew up; it’s terrifying.

“There is zero chance of impact,” said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA’s JPL. Yeomans adds that objects of this size pass us every few years, which means it’s fairly common. Still, that doesn’t mean we can’t count our lucky stars we’re left unscathed.

NASA is constantly surveying the craziness of space, so we should have a pretty solid handle on what is a threat and what isn’t. But just know that while you’re gearing up for next week’s World Cup, asteroids and other space debris is constantly flying in our vicinity. NASA and other ground-based telescopes have actually mapped The Beast’s trajectory up to year 2200, and in that time it won’t be a threat to our sheltered little existence.

Still, NASA has designated 2014 HQ124 as a “potentially hazardous asteroid” (PHA), which refers to its size (460 feet and up), and its distance within 4.6 million miles of Earth’s orbit around the sun. As of now, there are currently more than 1,000 PHAs, though none post an immediate threat to Earth. That doesn’t mean, however, there won’t be something years and years from now. But, at the moment, we’re safe and sound.

Let’s for a second discuss hypotheticals: if The Beast, which is traveling at 31,000 MPH, were to impact Earth, it has the potential to wipe out an entire metropolitan area—the impact would amount to about 100,000 times stronger than an atomic bomb. Hopefully no other Beast asteroids are out there on a trajectory for Earth.

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/06/07/asteroid-nicknamed-the-beast-to-barely-miss-earth-tomorrow/