http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news194.html
Tiny Asteroid Whizzes by Earth (2017 EA) March 2, 2017 Paul Chodas Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS) A small near-Earth asteroid less than 3 meters (10 feet) across whizzed safely past Earth today at a distance so close that it passed well inside the ring of geosynchronous satellites. Designated 2017 EA, the asteroid made its closest approach to Earth at 6:04 a.m. PST (9:04 a.m. EST / 14:04 UTC) at an altitude of only 14,500 kilometers (9000 miles) above the eastern Pacific Ocean. At its closest point, this asteroid was 20 times closer than the Moon; it then quickly moved into the daytime sky and can no longer be observed by ground-based telescopes. [Graphic] Asteroid 2017 EA Close Approach to Earth on March 2, 2017 (D. Farnocchia, NASA/JPL) 2017 EA was originally detected only 6 hours before closest approach by astronomers at the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey, near Tucson, Arizona. It was observed by several other observatories before it passed into the Earth's shadow just before closest approach. [Animation] Asteroid 2017 EA Close Approach to Earth on March 2, 2017 (R. Baalke, NASA/JPL) Even though 2017 EA was tracked for only a single day, its orbit is now known quite accurately. Computations by CNEOS indicate that the asteroid will not approach our planet this close again for at least a hundred years. Asteroid 2017 EA Close Approach to Earth on March 2, 2017 (D. Farnocchia, NASA/JPL) ______________________________________________ Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
