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An asteroid hit Earth right after being spotted by telescope this week
cnet ^ | June 25, 2019 | Eric Mack

Posted on 06/25/2019 5:56:55 PM PDT by BenLurkin

An asteroid the size of a refrigerator was spotted by telescopes in Hawaii on Saturday, just before it collided with Earth's atmosphere and burned as a fireball in the sky due south of Puerto Rico. The harmless space rock, officially named 2019 MO, never had a chance of making it to the ground or doing much damage, as it was only about a tenth the size of the bolide that exploded in the atmosphere over Russia in 2013.

What's most interesting about 2019 MO, though, is the fact that it was spotted by telescopes beforehand. That's only happened four times in history, according to Italian amateur astronomer Ernesto Guido.

The other three times all happened in the last 12 years, including asteroid 2018 LA that made it all the way to the ground in Africa.

This doesn't mean space rocks are getting more aggressive in the 21st century, but that astronomers' equipment and techniques are getting better at spotting incoming asteroids.

Astronomer Peter Brown from Western University in Ontario noted that the impact was recorded at the equivalent explosive power of 5,000 tons of TNT.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnet.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: 2019mo; asteroid; asteroids; astronomy; catastrophism; ernestoguido; science
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1 posted on 06/25/2019 5:56:55 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

2 posted on 06/25/2019 6:07:55 PM PDT by fidelis (Zonie and USAF Cold Warrior)
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To: BenLurkin

Sure glad it didn’t hit Puerto Rico. The socialist “democrat party would never let us hear the end of it.


3 posted on 06/25/2019 6:21:29 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (#NotARussianBot)
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To: BenLurkin

“This doesn’t mean space rocks are getting more aggressive in the 21st century,”

Gotta get those space rocks to stop listening to heavy metal. Put on some soft rock instead.


4 posted on 06/25/2019 6:29:55 PM PDT by Redcitizen (Tagline not secure.)
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To: SunkenCiv

*ping*


5 posted on 06/25/2019 6:30:13 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (Who will think of the gerbils ? Just say no to Buttgiggity !)
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To: BenLurkin

It always seems a shame to me that these rocks fly who knows how many millions of miles and who knows how many millions of years, only to meet their end by ignominiously burning up in our atmosphere. Now landing in the middle of a San Francisco Gay Pride parade— that would be the way to go, and be well worth the trip.


6 posted on 06/25/2019 6:33:21 PM PDT by fidelis (Zonie and USAF Cold Warrior)
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To: Redcitizen

From this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr9ie2J2690

To this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-TKul0pfPQ


7 posted on 06/25/2019 6:38:52 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: fidelis

Great Post!
ROTFL!

8 posted on 06/25/2019 6:54:46 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: BenLurkin

This is like looking into a train tunnel and expecting us to be amazed when we report “A Train is Coming!”......


9 posted on 06/25/2019 6:56:51 PM PDT by G Larry (There is no great virtue in bargaining with the Devil)
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To: BenLurkin

Didn’t feel a thing


10 posted on 06/25/2019 7:06:48 PM PDT by butlerweave
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To: BenLurkin

So, basically it hit with about 1/3 of the force of the Hiroshima bomb and nobody noticed.


11 posted on 06/25/2019 7:25:00 PM PDT by BuffaloJack (Chivalry is not dead. It is a warriors code and only practiced by warriors.)
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To: BuffaloJack

Had their headphones on.


12 posted on 06/25/2019 7:26:03 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin
Instapundit Glenn Reynolds on stopping killer asteroids:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/06/25/americans-worry-more-about-asteroids-than-sending-people-mars-column/1542956001/

13 posted on 06/25/2019 7:34:44 PM PDT by TChad
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To: BenLurkin

That’s a pretty good pairing. I like it.

Here’s my choice for chilling out aggressive space rocks.

From this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3RsOxKHr6k

To this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6TsYypBpY


14 posted on 06/25/2019 7:39:54 PM PDT by Redcitizen (Tagline not secure.)
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To: BenLurkin

Maybe God was aiming for the RAT debate in Miami tomorrow night.


15 posted on 06/25/2019 8:27:33 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (President Trump IS The Resistance!)
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To: BenLurkin
The Number 72 on the asteroids jersey made it easy to identify.
The asteroid scored 6 points upon impact.

16 posted on 06/25/2019 8:55:23 PM PDT by Waverunner (I'd like to welcome our new overlords, say hello to my little friend)
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To: BenLurkin

Back in my day a space rock the size of a refrigerator was called a meteor. Guess they’re going to have to rename the Murchison Meteorite the Murchison Asteroid.

This rock burned up in the sky but had the impact of 5KT of TNT? The author must have dropped out of 3rd grade science class.


17 posted on 06/25/2019 8:59:37 PM PDT by Ceebass (The only thing Orwell got wrong was the date)
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To: BenLurkin

If an asteroid hits the earth and explodes with the force of 5,000 tons of tnt, women and children will be affected most.


18 posted on 06/25/2019 9:03:30 PM PDT by The_Media_never_lie (Investigate! Investigate! There are charges yet to fabricate!)
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To: Waverunner

Those were the days, my FRIend.


19 posted on 06/25/2019 9:10:55 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: july4thfreedomfoundation

If God was aiming, it would have hit.


20 posted on 06/25/2019 9:41:00 PM PDT by vpintheak (Stop making stupid people famous!)
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