New Asteroid Expected to Zip Past Earth

(CBS)  For people worried that the planet will explode from an asteroid crash, you can breathe easy today.

A newly discovered asteroid, the 2010GA6, is scheduled to zoom past Earth Thursday within the moon's orbit around 7:06 p.m. EDT, according to NASA researchers, Space.com reports.

"Fly bys of near-Earth objects within the moon's orbit occur every few weeks," said Don Yeomans of NASA's Near-Earth Object Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., in a statement.

The asteroid is relatively small - 71 feet wide - and was first spotted by astronomers in Tucson, Ariz.

This will not be the first asteroid of the year to come close to the planet. An asteroid flew past Earth in January.

For more about the asteroid, click here

[brianbwb2011]

by valarclan April 9, 2010 3:44 AM EDT
Your first sentence needs to be deleted.

Why?

Do you want people to panic over nothing?

I guess it doesn't occur to you that the info came from astronomers, who make it their business to calculate things like velocity and mass, and figure that Earth's gravity well would not be strong enough to capture this object on the current pass, and that the orbital period oi the object is such that in all probability it is on a parabolic course, and not likely to return.

Such info, while interesting to those who understand it, is probably useless to the layman who doesn't.

"r =\frac{2GM}{c^2} \approx 2.95\, M/M_{earth} \;\mathrm{km,}" is cool, but hardly makes good reading on a news website, right?

[valarclan]

Your first sentence needs to be deleted.
First off its moronic.

Better to somehow indicate 'this' asteroid is not a danger at this point...

But even a 70 ft roid is dangerous to a city.
And the fact other asteroids exist that dwarf that is no mystery....

Reason for this comment: False sense of security from those words.
How idiotic compared to the numbers.
It has happened, it will happen, its just when will it...

Oh well I gues the dumbing down of america starts at the source of our news.
I am at least happy it was at least reported. (Be it every so pittyful and small to information that could have been reported on it...)

Seems the same editors of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are at work for you. Reducing volumes of information on earth to "Mostly Harmless" .....

COME ONE WHERE IS THE REPORTING OF INFORMATION!

[brianbwb2011]

Be interesting if it was a 77-ft.-long gold nugget.

The only thing zooming faster is how quickly NASA would get fully funded.

[mjlewis6]

This is big enough to hit ANYPLACE with devastating effects. Next one?

There are enough observable phenomena without any test of whether or not we can HIT one with a missile as the asteroid moves away.

But it would be of greater interest if we can test our technology with another such asteroid on approach. If we can't hit the small ones...then the big ones are going to smack us back to the stone age if they don't kill the planet. Are we ready for planetary billiards?
We have yet to declare what we can or will do in this area.

[thechooch1]

Maybe this is the Armageddon the republicans were talking about after the signing of the Health Care bill? Wow, it just missed us....

[pollroller1]

This just in. Big asteroid to hit earth. Could be the end. More at eleven.

[ll2owt]

and I am the big kahuna. I am the leader of the "poopy bag party". we have NO members, we do NOTHING, we want only DONATIONS, and our FIRST meeting will take place on the moon the day sarry polin is sworn in as intelligent.

[chatmandu7451]

Let the asteroids fall where they may. I'm a Tea Party patriot and I love my country. Stop the government spending, Stop big government. Let the free market do its thing, make money and jobs.

I am Spartacus and I am the Tea Party leader

We are all Spartacus and we are the Tea Party leaders

[ToolMangler1]

And 'EOL' events don't give a f@rt who 'you are.
EOL = End Of Life...
BTW: I am a Democrat, and I love 'MY' country also..
How much 'Anarchy' do you want? Without government, the country becomes every man for himself (robber baron heaven)

[Ceres6]

We should feel sorry for people like taxchurches, who are hoping for the Earth to be destoyed by an asteroid or by a comet. In their view, we are all responsible for their unhappy lives, and as a result, we must die tragically.

[brianbwb2011]

To liberalornot

History clearly shows that bombing and burning churches is a hobby of the ASPD-afflicted racist "conservatives".

[taxchurches]

(CBS) "For people worried that the planet will explode from an asteroid crash, you can breathe easy today."

What about those of us who hoping it would?

[brianbwb2011]

You lose.

Again.