This video prepared at 12.15 noon on 2nd March 09 shows simulated animation of Asteroid 2009 DD45 -closest pass at 63,500 km at 19:14 p.m. IST (13.44 UTC) on 2nd March, 2009. This is about a fifth of the distance between Earth and the moon. NASA estimates it had a diameter of between 21 and 47 metres. It was closest to Earth when it passed over the Pacific Ocean near Tahiti. It is similar in size to the one that struck Siberia in 1908 and levelled 800 square miles of forest.
Apophis is a giant asteroid (700 - 1000 feet in diameter). This is due to pass close to the Earth on Friday the 13th 2029. Until then scientists will be unable to determine if it will come back and slam into us in 2036. FU162 missed the Earth by just 4,000 miles on March 31, 2004.
2 comments:
The one in 1908 they believe exploded just before impact. To me this would be the number one priority for humans on the earth, not global warming. The odds are not in our favor.
I agree. Hopefully NASA could devise a means of diverting asteroids if they are detected in time
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