Car-size asteroid discovered 2 days ago flies 30 times closer to Earth than the moon
Car-size asteroid discovered 2 days ago flies 30 times closer to Earth than the moon
A newly discovered asteroid got within 12,000 miles of Earth on a harrowing, ultra-close approach today. The space rock won't return for 70 years.
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Is that big enough to not burn up in the atmosphere?
This means it's an asteroid with a weight-class that would have burned up in Earth's atmosphere, if its orbit happened to intersect ours more directly.
So... Asteroid that would have burned up in the atmosphere will miss us instead. I guess that's good news?
Livescience is 90% over-hyped nothing.
A quick search suggests that something as small as 5 meters can survive hitting the ground, however there are a number of calculations to consider including the speed it is traveling, the entry angle, and the material it is made of.