Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Missed us by THAT much!
I just got a note from a fellow astronomer that a small-Earth-crossing asteroid just missed Earth last night, and may have spawned some bolides since there have been reports of fireballs over the Canadian prairies early this morning, March 8, 2011.
The object was about nine metres in diameter and was detected only a few days ago. Not bad, since it was a small astronomical body and wouldn't have been seen much further away. It passed within only a third of the distance to the Moon, which is a bit too close for comfort.
A nine-metre-wide object puts it about the size of a semitrailer. The good news is that an object this size likely would break apart completely before hitting Earth, so the largest chunk that would reach the ground would be dishwasher-sized or (likely) smaller.
If anyone saw a bright fireball last night or early this morning, let us know.
If you were squashed by a meteorite this morning, text me with a twitpic.
The object was about nine metres in diameter and was detected only a few days ago. Not bad, since it was a small astronomical body and wouldn't have been seen much further away. It passed within only a third of the distance to the Moon, which is a bit too close for comfort.
A nine-metre-wide object puts it about the size of a semitrailer. The good news is that an object this size likely would break apart completely before hitting Earth, so the largest chunk that would reach the ground would be dishwasher-sized or (likely) smaller.
If anyone saw a bright fireball last night or early this morning, let us know.
If you were squashed by a meteorite this morning, text me with a twitpic.
# posted by rutkows @ 9:30 AM 
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Sweet! I hope a piece of it gets found! You'd think someone would have heard something dishwasher sized. Sonic boom or something.
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