Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

National and World

Discussion

February 15, 2013

Asteroid buzzes safely past Earth — unlike meteor

By Bill Archer Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —  The world is safe — at least from one asteroid.

A 150-foot cosmic rock hurtled safely past Earth on Friday.

It was the closest known flyby for a rock of its size, passing within 17,000 miles. That’s closer than some satellites.

The flyby occurred just hours after a much smaller meteor exploded above Russia’s Ural Mountains.

Astronomers say the two events were coincidental, and the objects were traveling in opposite directions. At least one scientist called it an exciting day and “like a shooting gallery here.”

The asteroid was invisible to astronomers in the United States at the time of its closest approach on the opposite of the world. But in Australia, astronomers used binoculars and telescopes to watch the point of light speed across the clear night sky.

 

Text Only
National and World
Local News

AP Video
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Officials Arrest Man in Idaho in Terrorism Case Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting Sheriff: Expected 'More Loss of Life' in Tornado Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain Obama Says He's 'outraged' by IRS Case
Sister Newspapers' News