Earth Flyby of Asteroid 2011 MD on Monday
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Tomorrow, around 9:30 AM EDT, near-Earth asteroid 2011 MD will pass less than 8,000 miles above Earth’s surface.
2011 MD was discovered by the LINEAR near-Earth object discovery team observing from Socorro, New Mexico. Â While the asteroid does come fairly close to Earth, it is estimated to be 5-20 meters in diameter and there is no chance of the object hitting Earth’s surface.
Even if 2011 MD were to enter Earth’s atmosphere, due to its small size it would simply burn up in our atmosphere and have no impact on Earth’s surface . Below is a diagram that shows the asteroid’s trajectory as viewed from the Sun, showing 2011 MD’s close approach, which researchers say will be over the Atlantic Ocean and could be bright enough to see with a medium-to-large size telescope.
If you’d like to learn more about 2011 MD and other near-Earth objects, visit http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov.
Trajectory of 2011 MD from the general direction of the Sun. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Source:NASA/JPL NEO Press Release
Ray Sanders is a Sci-Fi geek, astronomer and blogger. Currently researching variable stars at Arizona State University, he writes for Universe Today, The Planetary Society blog, and his own blog, Dear Astronomer
2012-12-04 08:06:16
Source: http://www.dearastronomer.com/2011/06/26/earth-flyby-of-asteroid-2011-md-on-monday/
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