Medium-Sized Asteroid Passes Harmlessly by Earth

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

LOS ANGELES — A large asteroid hurtled harmlessly past the Earth early Monday at a distance of about 269,000 miles — slightly farther away than the moon.

Residents with telescopes in the United States and Canada had the best view of 2004 XP14, which appeared as a streaking dot in the northern sky.

Astronomers tracking the space rock's path since its discovery in 2004 had determined that it would pose no risk to Earth during the encounter nor in the next 100 years.

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Judging by its brightness, 2004 XP14 was estimated to be a quarter-mile to a half-mile wide.

An asteroid that size, if it smashed into Earth, would probably cause regional destruction. Scientists have said it would take a mile-wide or larger asteroid to cause widespread devastation that could threaten civilization.

Asteroid encounters are not uncommon. More than three dozen, mostly smaller, asteroids have flown closer to Earth in the last few years. But the latest was unusual because it was thought to be among the largest to have flown by.

Scientists believe an asteroid or comet impact probably wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago and gave rise to the age of mammals. But the probability of an asteroid hitting the Earth and causing a global disaster in the near future is extremely low, they say.

Asteroids the size of 2004 XP14 collide with Earth about every 84,000 years. Scientists said it's hard to predict what would happen if such an event occurred because it depends on the object's makeup, its angle and speed, and whether it was headed for the ocean or land.

An asteroid similar in size to 2004 XP14 would probably punch through the atmosphere and cause destruction on a regional scale, one expert said. If it smashed into the United States, it would probably destroy several states, but not the entire continent, said Don Yeomans, who heads the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"It would be quite serious, but not a global catastrophe," he said.

If it hit an ocean, it would likely create killer waves like the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, said Brian Marsden, director of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass.

"Something as large as this clearly does make a bit of a mess," Marsden said.

Besides devastation in the immediate impact zone, another concern is the extent to which debris from the collision would spread in the atmosphere, like ash from a volcanic eruption, possibly dimming or blotting out the sun.

Astronomers will analyze radar data on 2004 XP14 over the next several days to get a better idea of its shape and future trajectory.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201905,00.html

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This asteroid amazingly is around half the size of a mile wide asteroid that would cause real bad damage to Earth, and near extinction...!
I WOULD REAFIRM, THIS WAS A "TOO CLOSE" ENCOUNTER WITH AN ASTEROID...! As of Year 2,006...!
AND NO ALARM WAS SOUNDED,AND VERY FEW EVEN KNEW ABOUT IT, INCLUDING GOVERNMENTS...!
SO WHAT, WHAT THE HECK, IF WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE...!
Actually it was such a close call, that it was not known with suficient time to do much anyway....!

logicalities3.
thepurelogic.

THIS OTHER CASE IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT:

Largest asteroid to come near Earth for 19 years

Updated 19:30 29 January 2008 by Maggie McKee
For similar stories, visit the Comets and Asteroids Topic Guide

The largest asteroid to come near the Earth for 19 years will make its closest approach on Tuesday, venturing as close as 1.4 times the distance to the Moon. Already, the first radar observations of the space rock reveal it may have formed from two separate asteroids that fell together and stuck.

The asteroid, named 2007 TU24, was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, US, on 11 October 2007. Based on its apparent brightness, astronomers estimated that it was between 150 and 600 metres wide, but it has been too far away for ground-based telescopes to resolve it and determine its actual size and shape.

However, on Wednesday, it came close enough to the Earth - about 11 times the Moon's distance - for radar signals to be bounced off its surface. Five hours of observations using NASA's Goldstone radio telescope in California, US, reveal that the asteroid is about 250 metres wide.

Early detection

Fortunately, 2007 TU24 will come no closer than 1.4 times the Moon's distance. But its discovery only a few months before its closest approach to Earth highlights the importance of finding potentially dangerous space rocks, astronomers say. Recent research suggests small asteroids, just a few tens of metres across, can cause significant destruction if they impact the Earth.

Currently, NASA is hoping to turn up 90% of potentially hazardous asteroids larger than 1 kilometre wide by the end of 2008. But it says it does not have the funding to comply with a directive by the US Congress to find 90% of all space rocks down to 140 metres across. "If we could do that, then 99% of the risk associated with all near-Earth objects of all sizes would be retired," says Yeomans, explaining that the rocks would be discovered early enough to deflect them.

Further radar observations of 2007 TU24 will be made with the giant Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico when the rock is much closer to Earth. And for a brief time, amateur observers with telescopes 8 centimetres (3 inches) or larger should be able to see the asteroid under good observing conditions on the night of 29-30 January. Its closest approach will take place on the 29th at 0833 GMT.

Comets and Asteroids - Learn more in our special report.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13225

This article states that only 15% of asteroids have been identified.
And that many go undetected, in close orbits to EARTH...!
Simply a complete DISREGARD for human life, and preservation,
of human species, in any catastrophic event, in underground deep,
self sustainable facilities, and it just shows who they all really are....!

SIMPLY PATHETIC...! EVOLUTIONISTS..., ATHEIST..., RELIGIOUS...,
ILLOGICAL BEINGS....!

thepurelogic.