Huge Asteroid Hurtles Toward Earth.....>>>>>

[Johnny SixPack]

WASHINGTON -- An asteroid that's about one-half-mile wide is hurtling toward Earth, expected to narrowly miss the planet early Monday.

Astronomers say the space rock, called 2004 XP14, will pass "exceptionally close" to Earth in astronomical terms -- 268,624 miles away at its closest approach, The Scotsman reported. That's a little more than the moon's average distance from Earth.

The asteroid, discovered in December 2004, at first produced concerns that it could hit Earth later in the century but subsequent studies ruled out such a collision.

However, 2004 XP14 has been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid, or PHA, by the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., because of the proximity of its orbit to Earth and its estimated size, The Scotsman said.

Astronomers have a list of 783 PHAs.



Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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Have a great Monday everybody! 


Johnny

some more indepth info for those who may want to view it:

http://www.meade4m.com/articles/archive/4M_drclay_1151631629.html

[Chargerguy74]

so this thing could even deflect off the moon and smoke the Earth

[Silver R/T]

glad to live another day

[Telvis]

Maybe it will just make a glancing blow and only wipe out france.

[73dodge]

Maybe it will just make a glancing blow and only wipe out france.

Either that or Berkley....................

[bluesfool]

Maybe it will just make a glancing blow and only wipe out france.

We wouldn't be so lucky.

[bull]

Maybe it will get close enough to enter orbit but not the atmosphere. Then we'll have two moons instead of one, and that will probably screw things up too.

[73dodge]

Maybe it will get close enough to enter orbit but not the atmosphere. Then we'll have two moons.

Mean like these?

[SirNik73]

Maybe it will just make a glancing blow and only wipe out france.

Either that or Berkley....................

Agreed!

[mikepmcs]

Maybe it will just make a glancing blow and only wipe out france.

[CaptMarvel]

Maybe it will get close enough to enter orbit but not the atmosphere. Then we'll have two moons.

Either way, I'm sure it will be GW's fault somehow....Hey what if it split before hitting and got both France and Berkeley? Now theres real shooting Tex!

[derailed]

Couldnt be GWs fault, hes to stupid to even know what one is

[mikepmcs]

Couldnt be GWs fault, hes to stupid to even know what one is

here we go, an asteroid turns in to bashing the CIC.
get a life!

[dodge freak]

OK we are safe-Last I hear was the Asteroid passed Earth and was safety on its way out of here. Astronomers say Earth is safe from it for the next 100 years. Now that it passed they are saying IF it would have hit 3-4 states could have been wiped out. Funny how we always get the whole story afterwards. Well just as well, things are messed up enough in the world, it would have been one heck of a show but I guess one 9-11 day is enough for ones lifetime.

[DanishDude]

Whenever you read these alarmist press releases, remember to check for the object's Torino rating. A rating of '10' is a guarantee of wiping all life off the face of the Earth.

2004 XP14 was assigned a TS-0 rating on december 20th, 2004, ten days after initial discovery of the object.

In other words: It has been known with mathematical precision since then that the probability of it hitting Earth within the next millenia is zero. Not just very small. Zero.

This was just your usual slow news day, brought to you by UPI. 

Frank.

[Lowprofile]

Sooner or later.............Hopefully much later!

[Johnny SixPack]

As long as it hits Rosie O'Donnell, I'm sure we'll be fine. 

[Lowprofile]

As long as it hits Rosie O'Donnell, I'm sure we'll be fine. 

I wonder what kind of "bounce factor" the asteroid would get off of her fat ass? 

[Charger_Fan]

As long as it hits Rosie O'Donnell, I'm sure we'll be fine. 

I wonder what kind of "bounce factor" the asteroid would get off of her fat ass? 

Probably a good enough bounce to get it orbiting Uranus.

[Johnny SixPack]

As long as it hits Rosie O'Donnell, I'm sure we'll be fine. 

I wonder what kind of "bounce factor" the asteroid would get off of her fat ass? 

Probably a good enough bounce to get it orbiting Uranus.

And dat rite dare sounds jus' like ah damn good place fer dem 'roids ta be. 

[Khyron]

have fun blowing up the Earth, This is fun for us geeks of all ages

http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/

Welcome to the Earth Impact Effects Program: an easy-to-use, interactive web site for estimating the regional environmental consequences of an impact on Earth. This program will estimate the ejecta distribution, ground shaking, atmospheric blast wave, and thermal effects of an impact as well as the size of the crater produced.