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BY LEXA DECKERT
ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY
You're watching multisource video news analysis from Newsy
The end of the world as we know it?
Maybe not -- but space launched an asteroid attack this week. Here’s Slate.
“A near-miss asteroid has got the twitterverse wondering just how close did it come to hitting earth? Designated 2011 MD, the space rock was first detected on June 22 by LINEAR. MIT’s Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research Center and missed the planet by just 7,500 miles.”
The asteroid careened closest to planet earth Monday, barreling by Antarctica. National Geographic gives an up close look.
“The rogue object... buzzed by at a distance... roughly 30 times closer than the moon. Researchers... pegged its size between 20 feet (6.3 meters) and 46 feet (14 meters) wide. Astronomers clocked its top speed at around 63,000 miles (101,000 kilometers) an hour.”
Asteroid attcks -- scary science-fiction stuff right?
Well -- not really.
According to The Washington Post, this is really... kinda normal.
“Objects of this size would likely just produce a brilliant fireball with only small fragments landing in the ocean or crashing into the ground (hopefully not hitting anyone on the head). It’s estimated that there are nearly a billion objects this size or somewhat larger in near-Earth space. But on average such an object is expected to come this close to Earth about every 6 years.”
Scientists don’t usually -- freak out -- unless incoming space-matter registers larger than 490 feet in width -- about 10 times larger than this -- little ol’ thing
ABC talks up a scientist about what to do -- if THAT should ever happen.
SCIENTIST: “You don’t want to make it into a thousand little pieces because then you have a thousand rocks coming down into earth and you have the same problem. In fact, maybe even worse...” (FLASH)
REPORTER: “So for years, scientists have pondered ways to gently nudge the asteroids away from earth. Astronaut Ed Lu has been working on plans for a kind of space tugboat -- an unmanned craft that would slowly, over years, pull an asteroid off its collision course.
You might wanna step on that.
Brian Williams notes, rather tongue in cheek -- not to worry!
“It was close enough to earth that our gravity actually pulled it toward us enough to change its route as it passed us by. Astronomers who only saw this one coming five days ago now tell us of course there was nothing to worry about all along.”
Astronomers expect to see 2011 MD again in the future -- and next time it might be an even closer encounter.
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