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posted by martyb on Saturday September 02 2017, @03:57AM   Printer-friendly
from the Think-we'd-notice-if-it-didn't-miss? dept.

A large asteroid, 3122 Florence, has passed by Earth at a distance of around 7 million kilometers (about 0.047237 AU):

Asteroid Florence, a large near-Earth asteroid, will pass safely by Earth on Sept. 1, 2017, at a distance of about 4.4 million miles, (7.0 million kilometers, or about 18 Earth-Moon distances). Florence is among the largest near-Earth asteroids that are several miles in size; measurements from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and NEOWISE mission indicate it's about 2.7 miles (4.4 kilometers) in size.

"While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence will on September 1, all of those were estimated to be smaller," said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the NASA program to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began."

This relatively close encounter provides an opportunity for scientists to study this asteroid up close. Florence is expected to be an excellent target for ground-based radar observations. Radar imaging is planned at NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and at the National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The resulting radar images will show the real size of Florence and also could reveal surface details as small as about 30 feet (10 meters).

All that money just whizzing by.

Also at Space.com and BBC.


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Saturday September 02 2017, @03:44PM (4 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Saturday September 02 2017, @03:44PM (#562947)

    A swing and a miss. Strike 1!

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 02 2017, @04:29PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 02 2017, @04:29PM (#562957)

    Missing us by 18 earth-moon distances. That sounds like a "ball" to me. Inside the lunar orbit might be the strike zone??

    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Saturday September 02 2017, @09:25PM (2 children)

      by Thexalon (636) on Saturday September 02 2017, @09:25PM (#563025)

      It would be a ball, except they swung at the pitch.

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      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 02 2017, @09:43PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 02 2017, @09:43PM (#563029)

        > "they" (no antecedent)

        Who's on first? ...

        • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Saturday September 02 2017, @10:27PM

          by Thexalon (636) on Saturday September 02 2017, @10:27PM (#563038)

          Yes, he is. And What is on second, I Don't Know is on third, and Naturally is the pitcher.

          --
          The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.