Asteroid, 2011 MD, To Zip Past Earth On Monday

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA says a newly discovered asteroid will have a close encounter with Earth on Monday, but there's no need to worry.

The space agency's Near-Earth Object Program Office says the small space rock – dubbed 2011 MD – will pass 7,500 miles above Earth's surface over the southern Atlantic Ocean at about 6:30 a.m. PDT.

Though it will come close, it's not a distance record holder. Earlier this year, a tiny asteroid flew by even closer – within 3,400 miles. .

The latest asteroid measures 33 feet long and was discovered this week by telescopes in New Mexico. Scientists say asteroids this size sail past Earth every six years.

The asteroid will briefly be bright enough that medium-size telescopes may be able to spot it.

Comments

[Tony Kimiecik]

03:34 PM on 06/27/2011

I saw a banner about this during lunch on CNN. All it said was "Asteroid coming toward earth". There was no other mention of it so I worried for nothing.

[justin allsup]

03:26 PM on 06/27/2011

Please take a small amount of time to prepare together in case an asteroid ever does come close or any other natural disaster occurs at www.emergencysociety.com

Thanks,

Justin

[not going2take it]

12:59 PM on 06/27/2011

The massive pile of misinformation and BS brought about by the egocentirc GOP presidential .hopefuls. and their fat checkbooks will buffer / shield us from such devastation, as they are aware they have not bled us dry .yet. there
is just too much work left to do.

[Danny McMillan]

12:36 PM on 06/28/2011

Actually we will be shielded by the tremendous amount of taxes, debt, illegal aliens, gay marriage nonsense, wars and socialist/communist behaviour perpetuated by unqualified senators and our current president. Hows your change coming? Like the extra taxes and entitlements? Or do you work for a living?

[mamacat]

08:29 AM on 06/27/2011

That asteroid is set to pass at its closest point at just....about.... now.

[Larry Richardson]

11:27 PM on 06/26/2011

whew,thats close

[Puzzlr]

04:35 PM on 06/26/2011

Discovered this week? So much for early warnings.

[AlPal3]

03:39 PM on 06/25/2011

Let's catch it and make it into a theme park!

[m251624]

02:53 PM on 06/25/2011

I have been barringer meteor craitor, big hole.

[mamacat]

09:03 AM on 06/27/2011

It has been estimated that Barringer Crater (4000 feet across) was created by an iron-nickel asteroid about 160 feet in diameter, about 50,000 years ago.

The Tunguska event of 1908, in Siberia, completely destroyed about 800 square miles of forest. Best estimates are that it was caused by a rubble-pile type of asteroid, about 120 feet across. It created a tremendous air burst in the atmosphere, comparable to an atom bomb. The area where it exploded was sparsely populated, but one man several miles from the epicenter was lifter up into the air, thrown against a tree, and he died from his injuries.

2011 MD, at only 33 feet diameter (give or take) could certainly cause a lot of damage, if it hit the wrong spot on Earth.

Last year an asteroid of about 1 meter diameter broke up upon entry, and struck in an unpopulated area of Eastern Africa. Since it broke up, we can surmise that it was a rubble-pile type, with a low water concentration. With a higher water concentration it might have caused an air burst (albeit a small one), and if it had been a nickel-iron type, it would have stayed mostly in one piece until impact.

[ifsos]

02:49 PM on 06/25/2011

Wonder if these things could play with the Earth's gravitationalpull and send us spinning out into a Black Hole or something?

[iamhoops]

03:18 PM on 06/25/2011

Put your mind at ease. This thing's 33 feet. That's about the size of a schoolbus, give or take a few feet. Maybe more like an 18-wheeler. Unless it was made of some kind of super-dense matter, it wouldn't have a chance of affecting Earth's orbit. This is the type of thing that, even if it hit us, would most likely just burn up in the atmosphere.

If you really want to worry (needlessly) about an asteroid, worry about Apophis. It's designated as a near-earth asteroid that has a 1 in 250,000 chance of hitting us in 2036, and at nearly 1,000 feet in diameter, it could potentially release 510 megatons of energy, enough to wipe out a country the size of France.

Like I said though, 1 in 250,000 chance it'll hit. Not so good. and on the bright side, if the end of the world comes in 2012, 2036 won't matter anyway.

[Wanderland]

04:17 PM on 06/25/2011

That's when they say Social Security will go into the red.

Coincidence?

[ifsos]

09:36 PM on 06/25/2011

I like the way you explained this and I guess that I do faintly remember reading some of that information. But before I was injured I was a number cruncher, so I am used to looking for the what ifs?

And if the world does end in 2012 ... Well, it just don't matter!!! LOL

[Ray Beck]

02:25 PM on 06/25/2011

No. If it hit us it would be Obama's fault. This is just a warning that Obama needs to be defeated in 2012 or the next one will hit.

[m251624]

02:38 PM on 06/25/2011

Your f#$kin stupid.

[Jman044]

03:41 PM on 06/25/2011

I would say that belongs in your category.

[Jason Bullock]

04:59 PM on 06/25/2011

Wow, sarcasm is not your friend, is it?

[SailbadTheSinner]

03:54 PM on 06/26/2011

Don’t let Bush off so easily.

[mike711l]

02:22 PM on 06/25/2011

Danger, Danger Will Robinson!

[mijsenrab]

02:10 PM on 06/25/2011

It's obama's fault!

[scat]

01:46 PM on 06/25/2011

not to worry. BO's Ego will shield us from it.

[SailbadTheSinner]

03:59 PM on 06/26/2011

If it gets past that (unlikely), it’ll just bounce off Michelle’s huge butt.

[scat]

01:44 PM on 06/25/2011

harry stamper, calling harry stamper

[cuoi]

01:33 PM on 06/25/2011

Would all the nuke nations know not to push the button if one these bad boys hits? To the casual observer it would appear to be a nuke, with mushroom cloud and big badda boom...