Image courtesy NASA
The asteroid Eros in 2000, as pictured by NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission. Photograph courtesy NASA/JHUAPL.
Published September 8, 2010
The second small asteroid to pass near Earth in a single day will make its closest approach later today, scientists say.
(Related: "NASA to Visit Asteroid Predicted to Hit Earth?")
The approximately 30-foot (10-meter) asteroid, dubbed 2010 RF12, will pass within about 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers) of Earth at 5:12 p.m. ET.
About 12 hours earlier, at 5:51 a.m. ET, a 50-foot (15-meter) asteroid called 2010 RX30 passed within about 154,000 miles (248,000 kilometers) of our planet—roughly halfway between Earth and the moon.
Both asteroids' paths are too far away to endanger Earth or any satellites, said Lindley Johnson, program executive for the Near-Earth Object Program at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
"Even if they were to hit Earth, these two asteroids would disintegrate in the atmosphere," he said. "We'd get a few meteorites out of them, but there wouldn't be any damage to the ground."
(See "'Killer Asteroid' Debate Pits Gravity Tractors Against Bombs, Projectiles.")
Asteroids Found Only Sunday
Both asteroids were discovered on Sunday by the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona.
Astronomers estimate that a small asteroid like 2010 RF12 and 2010 RF30 passes between Earth and the moon every day. (Read about an asteroid that unexpectedly buzzed Earth last year.)
Most of these space rocks are never seen, because instruments scanning the skies for dangerous near-Earth asteroids aren't designed to notice rocks smaller than about a hundred feet (30 meters).
"The Catalina Sky Survey just happened to be looking at the right part of the sky at the right time to pick them up Sunday morning," Johnson said.
2010 RX30 was not visible to the naked eye when it made its closest approach to Earth, and 2010 RF12 isn't expected be discernible either.
"You'd need a fairly sophisticated amateur telescope, something on the order of 20 inches [50 centimeters] or so, to be able to see these asteroids," Johnson said.
For an insider's take on space news, check National Geographic's Breaking Orbit blog >>
Most Popular News
-
Black Hole Seen Eating Asteroids?
An ongoing rocky buffet would explain bright x-ray flares seen around our galaxy's supermassive black hole since 1999, astronomers say.
-
Zebra Stripes Are Bug Repellant?
Stripes may do more than help zebras hide in tall grass—the pattern may scramble the vision of bloodsucking horseflies
-
Lake Vostok Breached
Russian scientists have confirmed that they have breached the subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica—a first.
Advertisement
News Blogs
-
Ireland to Charge for Water for the First Time
New plan aims to boost water conservation.
-
Texas Moves to Save Critical Groundwater
Ogallala Aquifer has dropped as much as 150 feet.
-
Good News, Bad News on U.S. Energy Outlook
The "all of the above" energy approach Obama championed in his State of the Union speech is at odds with U.S. climate goals.
ScienceBlogs Picks
Connect With Nat Geo
Got Something to Share?
Special Ad Section
Great Energy Challenge Blog
Green Living Hot Topics
-
Organic Air Fresheners
Avoid toxic chemicals and create a calming space.
-
Surprising Recyclable Household Items
With a little know-how, you can recycle more than you think.
-
Side Effects of Vegetarianism
Find out how to stay healthy and eat lower on the food chain.
