Duck! 2009 DD45 is flying by

Late word out of the IAU's Minor Planet Center: a small asteroid will pass close to Earth [on] ...March 2nd ... at 13:44 Universal Time. How close? The MPC's Timothy Spahr calculates that it'll be 0.00047 astronomical unit from Earth's center. That's only about 40,000 miles (63,500 km) up -- well inside the Moon's orbit and roughly twice the altitude of most communications satellites!

This object is about 30 meters across. If it struck a dinosaur, it would probably kill it. But, unlike this object that struck the earth recently, this asteroid is going to fly by.

Apparently, people in Tahiti will have/had a close enough look to read the serial numbers.

Details here.

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If it struck Godzilla it would make him Very Angry.

By Nathan Myers (not verified) on 02 Mar 2009 #permalink