MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Another one closer than the moon. And this one was only discovered a few days ago. Certainly makes you wonder how many are out there that they’ve yet to discover …

By Tariq Malik, Space.com – “A small asteroid about the size of a city bus zipped by Earth at a range closer than the moon early Saturday (May 3), but posed no threat to our planet.

The newly discovered asteroid 2014 HL129 came within 186,000 miles (299,338 kilometers) of Earth when it made its closest approach on Saturday morning, which is close enough to pass between the planet and the orbit of the moon. The average distance between the Earth and moon is about 238,855 miles (384,400 km).

You can watch a video animation of asteroid 2014 HL129’s orbit around the sun on Space.com. The asteroid is about 25 feet (7.6 meters) wide, according to NASA’s Asteroid Watch project based at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. It made its closest approach to Earth at 4:13 a.m. EDT (0813 GMT).

Saturday’s close shave by asteroid 2014 HL129 came just days after its discovery on Wednesday, April 28 …” Read more.

What If An Asteroid Hit The Earth? – “An asteroid striking our planet — it’s the stuff of science fiction… An asteroid impact is also the stuff of science fact… Let’s say that an asteroid the size of a house crashed on Earth at 30,000 mph. It would have an amount of energy roughly equal to the bomb that fell on Hiroshima — perhaps 20 kilotons. An asteroid like this would flatten reinforced concrete buildings up to half a mile from ground zero, and flatten wooden structures perhaps a mile and a half from ground zero. It would, in other words, do extensive damage to any city… if an asteroid strikes Earth, it will be a really, really bad day no matter how big it is.” Read more.