See the surprise asteroid that gave Earth a scare in July

CNET ^ | August 2, 2019 | Amanda Kooser

[BenLurkin]

We weren't in danger of losing a chunk of our planet to asteroid 2019 OK, but it was detected just the day before it slipped past, and that's the worrying part.

The European Space Agency had enough time to ask two telescopes in the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) to take a look at the asteroid right before its flyby. These aren't beauty shots. The asteroid looks like a dark blob, but the observations are helping us learn more about 2019 OK.

We now know the asteroid flew by at a distance of just 40,000 miles (65,000 kilometers). Cosmically, that's fairly close.

The space rock measured in at about 330 feet (100 meters) wide. "Asteroids the size of 2019 OK size are relatively common in the solar system, but hit Earth on average only every 100,000 years,"

Asteroid 2019 OK moves across a backdrop of stars in this ISON GIF.

S. Schmalz/ISON

[Ozark Tom]

This estimate is way too low. The asteroid that exploded high above Chelyabinsk, Russia was much smaller; yet, delivered about 450 kt. at very high altitude. Try the full rated output of the Tsar Bomba as an appropriate match.