Asteroid the size of a small truck buzzes Earth: NASA

Reuters via nbcnews.com ^ | June 8, 2013 | Irene Klotz

[John W]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An asteroid the size of a small truck zoomed past Earth four times closer than the moon on Saturday, the latest in a parade of visiting celestial objects that has raised awareness of potentially hazardous impacts on the planet.

NASA said Asteroid 2013 LR6 was discovered about a day before its closest approach to Earth, which occurred at 12:42 a.m. EDT (0442 GMT on Saturday) about 65,000 miles over the Southern Ocean, south of Tasmania, Australia.

The 30-foot-wide (10-meter-wide) asteroid posed no threat.

A week ago, the comparatively huge 1.7-mile-wide (2.7-km-wide) asteroid QE2, complete with its own moon in tow, passed 3.6 million miles (5.8 million km) from Earth.

While on February 15, a small asteroid exploded in the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, leaving more than 1,500 people injured by flying glass and debris. That same day, an unrelated asteroid passed just 17,200 miles from Earth, closer than the networks of communication satellites that ring the planet.

"There is theoretically a collision possible between asteroids and planet Earth," astronomer Gianluca Masi, with the Virtual Telescope project, said during a Google+ webcast that showed live images of the approaching asteroid.

[Carriage Hill]

Asteroid buzzing-by very close Ping. Minor SHTF?

[Izzy Dunne]

"There is theoretically a collision possible between asteroids and planet Earth,"

"theoretically" ? ? ?

I guess he doesn't realize how stupid that sounds.

[Olog-hai]

Indeed. It’s even “theoretical” that Earth could explode like the fictional planet Krypton.

[Bratch]

[MortMan]

And the NSA has identified 16 separate phone calls made from the Atlanta area to this trick-sized asteroid...

[catfish1957]

"There is theoretically a collision possible between asteroids and planet Earth," astronomer Gianluca Masi

One of three scenarios here folks....

1. This is not a real astronomer.

2. This is an astronomer, and he needs to turn in his union card ASAP.

3. (and most likely) He got misquoted, and is cringing and embarrassed on an epic scale.

[cripplecreek]

3. (and most likely) He got misquoted, and is cringing and embarrassed on an epic scale.

Given the state of journalism these days, that's the most likely scenario.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Since when is a small truck 30 ft wide?

[bert]

———four times closer than the moon-——

I think that clumsy style book induced calculation means the path was 1/4 of the distance to the moon

[COBOL2Java]

We are not alone...

[Redleg Duke]

But, how is that Muslim outreach going? That is the administration's priority!

Get with the program, you racist bastiges!

[VRW Conspirator]

Does that have a Hemi?

[NonValueAdded]

Brevard County, Florida ping. Pinged because the dateline was from the Cape. Seemed rather unusual for a story like this one.

Let me know if you want on or off this ping list.
(not associated with the county government)

[Blue Highway]

Space Trucking?

[Blue Highway]

You forgot NASA’s quest for knowledge on the credible findings of glow-bull warming./s

[jaz.357]

[wrencher]

NASA only spotted it because they were searching for the Moon God.

[Atlas Sneezed]

The Russian incident this year was a meteor not an asteroid.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The 30-foot-wide asteroid posed no threat.

Passed us by a whisker and "posed no threat"? What exactly would constitute a "threat" from an asteroid? A warning message transmitted from the asteroid: "Bend over, suckers!"?