|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
. | ![]() |
. |
|
![]() |
![]() by Danielle Haynes Washington (UPI) Jun 7, 2013
The so-called Beast asteroid is expected to miss Earth by about 777,000 miles, which is a good thing because the 1,100-foot wide behemoth could do serious damage. There's no chance the asteroid will hit Earth, scientists say, but at 777,000 miles away -- 3.25 times the distance from the Earth to the moon -- it's a relatively close call. The asteroid is about 10 to 20 times bigger than the one that injured 1,000 people last year in Chelyabinsk, Russia, Bob Berman, of the Slooh community observatory said. That asteroid was 55 feet wide. The asteroid was first spotted April 23 by NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer. "What's disconcerting is that a rocky/metallic body this large, and coming so very close, should have only first been discovered this soon before its nearest approach," Berman said. "If it were impact us, the energy released would be measured not in kilotons like the atomic bombs that ended World War II, but in H-bomb type megatons."
Related Links Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology
|
![]() |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. |