NASA's new warning system has spotted an incoming asteroid
NASA's new space-monitoring system has detected a large asteroid hurtling towards Earth, which is scheduled to pass us safely in the next few hours.
The asteroid, which was first spotted last week, is estimated to clear us with a comfortable distance of around 498,000 km (310,000 miles) - around 1.3 times further away than our Moon. But thanks to NASA's new software, we had days rather than hours to assess and prepare for the risk.
Source:
http://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-s-new-warning-system-has-spotted-an-incoming-asteroid
References:
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/
http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K16/K16U84.html
#nasa #space #asteroids #science
asteroid: "knock, knock, anybody home?"
ReplyDeleteWe have discovered the next Great Filter. And it is political willpower.
ReplyDelete5 to 25 m size -- the Chelyabinsk size range. I'd really like to see an analysis for the expected time until a collision that would surpass the damage of a major earthquake or hurricane.
ReplyDelete