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Space & Astronomy

Giant asteroid has safely passed the Earth

By T.K. Randall
September 4, 2017 · Comment icon 24 comments

It turns out that Florence actually has two small moons. Image Credit: NASA
Known as Florence, the 2.7-mile asteroid is the largest near-Earth object ever recorded by NASA.
When it was revealed recently that this enormous space rock was set to pass the Earth at the beginning of September, the news was met with an understandable degree of unease.

Despite assurances that it would pass by at a distance of 145 million miles - 18 times the distance of the Moon - its size at almost 3 miles across is bigger than anything NASA has ever tracked before and a collision with the Earth would have caused untold devastation and destruction.
Thankfully though, as predicted, it has since been confirmed that Florence has safely passed us by.

"While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence... all of those were estimated to be smaller," said Paul Chodas of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.

"Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the NASA programme to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began."



Source: Independent | Comments (24)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #15 Posted by Waspie_Dwarf 7 years ago
No we don't and no it hasn't We DO have a quasi-satellite. but quasi-satellites are not actually moons. They orbit the sun in a similar way to Earth, regularly bringing them close to us, however they are not in orbit around the Earth and so are not true moons. From the article that ROGER linked to:   No. What I said was quite clearly about an ACTUAL temporary moon which HAS left Earth orbit.
Comment icon #16 Posted by rod64 7 years ago
So Waspie, how close did it actually come to the Earth? Something in that article is not right, it passed by at 145 million miles, 18 times the distance of the Moon. Last time I checked I thought the moon was approximately 238000 Miles away. By their math, the Moon would be over 8 million miles away. I'm sure it passed much closer than 145 million miles.
Comment icon #17 Posted by taniwha 7 years ago
I wonder if NASA plan on announcing every rock they can see passing by, it sure makes people edgy.
Comment icon #18 Posted by Waspie_Dwarf 7 years ago
Yes, And speak for yourself.
Comment icon #19 Posted by taniwha 7 years ago
Is it even necessary?  Why would they go to such great lengths to let everyone in the world know what rock is passing, where it is and what time it will be there? Should anyone even care?
Comment icon #20 Posted by Waspie_Dwarf 7 years ago
I must be missing something because I can not find that figure in the original article. It does say: and: Which is about right.
Comment icon #21 Posted by Waspie_Dwarf 7 years ago
Yes. How can astronomers observe objects if NASA keeps their existence secret?   It's called learning taniwha (try it some time). In announcing the orbit of each object that passes Earth it allows for further study. Further study leads to further knowledge. NASA is also in the planetary protection business. In order to protect Earth from an asteroid threat it is necessary to detect the objects which ARE a potential threat and discount those that aren't.   What you personally care about is your own concern. Fortunately there are members of the human race that do care and do want to learn, tha... [More]
Comment icon #22 Posted by taniwha 7 years ago
You have more chance of twisting your ankle walking over river rocks than being hit by asteroids! You are in more danger from a rock tumbling down in a slip than an asteroid! You will live a more meaningful life implementing stone tools than worrying about asteroids!
Comment icon #23 Posted by Waspie_Dwarf 7 years ago
Tell it to the dinosaurs. Oh, you can't. That thing you continually insist can't happen made most of the life on earth extinct. Tell that to the forest of Tunguska... what's left standing of it. Tell it to the inhabitants of Chelyabinsk. A large area of forest in Tunguska was laid waste by a meteor just 109 years ago. Chelyabinsk was damaged and nearly 1,500 people injured. That was just over 4 years ago. You carry on happily claiming it can't happen, after all ignorance is bliss. The rest of us will engage in rational, evidence based thinking
Comment icon #24 Posted by taniwha 7 years ago
The universe was a very different place 65 million years ago.  The world was very different 65 million years ago too.   For a start no humans even existed. Fast forward a few million years and yet here we are.   The odds of humans getting decimated by asteroids actually decrease over time due to the expansion of space. I feel as if I have told you this before. If anyone has an irrational fear of space rocks here is some advice....  Be wary of what lies underfoot least you stub your toe on a pebble. ( the pebble in this case being meteorphobia ) http://phobia.wikia.com/wiki/Meteorophobia


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