martes, 28 de junio de 2011

2011MD


What did NOT happen

A newly discovered house-sized asteroid missed the Earth by less than 17,700 km (11,000 miles) yesteray, Monday June 27, 2011. That’s about 23 times closer than the Moon. The size and location of the asteroid, named 2011 MD, allowed observers in certain locations to take a look at the space rock, even with small telescopes. It’s closest approach was at 13:26 UTC on June 27.

A few hours before the asteroid's nearest approach, it appeared close to the sun, so observations were possible for only a brief period. Backyard astronomers were able to observe it with telescopes from Australia, southern Africa, and the Americas.
The asteroid was discovered on June 22, 2011, by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) pair of robotic telescopes in New Mexico, and according to rough estimates, the asteroid's length is between 10 and 45 meters (30 and 150 ft).
Emily Baldwin of Astronomy Now said that there was no threat of collision, and should the asteroid enter Earth's atmosphere, it would "mostly burn up in a brilliant fireball, possibly scattering a few meteorites", causing no likely harm to life or property on the ground.

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