A Pretty Big Asteroid Will Be Flying by Earth Today, May 14

[Karamjit]

On the bright side, the space rock will keep a polite distance of 6.3 million miles (10 million kilometers)

If you have a couple of minutes to spare and aren't entirely opposed to the idea of making a complete fool of yourself, feel free to step outside and wave at the sky for a while.

No, you won't be waving at a whole lot of nothing. On the contrary, NASA scientists say that, on this glorious May 14, yet another asteroid will be flying by our planet.

The rock, known to astronomers as 1999 FN53, is estimated to have a diameter of 1 kilometer (roughly 0.6 miles). Given its size, there is little doubt it would cause serious damage if it were to hit us.

The good news is that, as it turns out, asteroid 1999 FN53 is not one to intrude on our personal space. When it makes its closest approach, it will be 6.3 million miles (10 million kilometers) away.

According to NASA researchers, this is the equivalent of 26 times the distance between Earth and its natural satellite, the Moon. To put it otherwise, this asteroid poses no threat whatsoever.

“This is a relatively unremarkable asteroid, and its distant flyby of Earth is equally unremarkable,” scientist Paul Chodas as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement.

The space rock is expected to approach our planet again 119 years from now. Even then, it will not get close enough to us to present a risk of impact.

From: http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Pretty-Big-Asteroid-Will-Be-Flying-by-Earth-Today-May-14-481186.shtml

[Fallon]

Compared to Asteroids, man made problems (like war) could be a luxury:

Asteroid belt

[flash48]

Thanks for visiting us asteroid 1999 FN53. Sorry to see you go. Have a nice trip and we will see you again in 119 years. :lol:

[Flypaper]

wow