Newfound asteroid the size of a house will fly safely by Earth Wednesday

space.com ^ | 04/14/2020 | tarik Maliq

[BenLurkin]

The asteroid 2020 GH2 will pass Earth at a range of about 223,000 miles (359,000 kilometers). The average distance from the Earth to the moon is about 239,000 miles (385,000 km).

Asteroid 2020 GH2 is about between 43 and 70 feet (13-70 meters) wide, or about the size of a detached house, according to data from the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the agency's Asteroid Watch Twitter account. It was first discovered on Saturday (April 11) and is being tracked by astronomers at several observatories, including the Catalina Sky Survey at Mount Lemmon in Arizona, according to the Minor Planet Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

That's not to say that near-Earth asteroids don't represent a potential threat to Earth. Scientists with NASA's Planetary Defense Program and around the world regularly observe the skies for new and known asteroids that might pose a danger to Earth.

Any asteroid about 500 feet (140 m) or larger with an orbit that brings it within 4.7 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid, NASA officials have said. As of 2019, scientists have discovered about 19,000 near-Earth asteroids, with about 30 newfound asteroids added each week.

And if you thought the house-sized asteroid 2020 GH2 sounds big, NASA is gearing up for an even larger asteroid to fly by on April 29. On that day, the potentially hazardous asteroid 1998 OR2 will fly by Earth at a safe distance of 3.9 million miles (6.2 million km).

[clearcarbon]

Like a house looking for a witch. Where’s felony clinton today?

[BenLurkin]

bttt

[glennaro]

Because in my haste I missed the word “will” between “house” and “fly” and I thought, “Who’ll even notice?”

[Gay State Conservative]

If it’s the size of a house in space it would be the size of a marble if it hit earth.

[bgill]

Make that the size of two regular houses.

[moovova]

Can we toss a few homeless onboard as it whizzes by?

[backwoods-engineer]

It would be more just if it smacked down right in the middle of Beijing. Or Washington, DC. We deserve a big ol’ asteroid smack for the sins of our civilization.

[MAAG]

Does anybody know what would happen if a really large one struck the moon? I know it has been struck many times with what seems to be small ones, but has any struck the moon during the modern era?

[GOPsterinMA]

No.

[dfwgator]

Newfound asteroid the size of a house will fly safely by Earth Wednesday

Translation: We're so doomed!

[DoodleBob]

Thanks. There is a great visualization of the flyby. Basically, the flyby is as if you're the Earth at the free-throw line, and a single pea (the asteroid) lands the other free throw line, and the moon is in the crowd near the concession stand.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Dale Johnson thought the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up8siWU92yI

[MikelTackNailer]

"What's all this fuss about an asteroid the size of a house fly? Don't astronomers have more important things to worry about than...huh...what?"

"Never mind."

[Eddie01]

I had an asteroid the size of a house once.

[NFHale]

C’mon, now... it made you think about it... admit it... :^)

[GOPsterinMA]

No.

[GOPsterinMA]

It made me think of Bob Crane.

[NFHale]

Well, if a pig loses it’s voice, is it “disgruntled”???

[NFHale]

Colonel Hogan!

[GOPsterinMA]

Yes.