Hey sometimes, shit just happens. On Sunday, December 9, 2012, astronomers discovered a new asteroid, which they hastily gave the name, 2012 XE54. Plotting the trajectory orbit, they freaked when they realized that this previously unknown object was going to pass within 140,000 miles of our planet around 5 am in the morning EST. In case you need the reference, that is well inside the orbit of the moon, approximately 240,000 miles around the earth. Astronomers estimated that 2012 XE54 is about 120 feet (36 meters) wide — big enough to cause substantial damage if it slams into Earth someday. An object of similar size flattened 800 square miles (2,000 square km) of forest when it exploded above Siberia's Podkamennaya Tunguska River in 1908.
1 comment:
No shit! It seems like at that distance it would be caught by the earth's gravitational field and pulled into orbit.
In worse case scenario - please, tell me it's headed for the Bible Belt - they can all go to Jesus and give the rest of us a break.
the Ol'Buzzard
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