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2012-12-13 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Asteroid passes inside moon's orbit, buzzes Earth

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Posted by Fred 2012-12-13 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [11134 views ] Top

#1 ...just two days after astronomers first spotted it.
I'm thinking somebody is hitting the eggnog early.

Posted by Skidmark 2012-12-13 00:29|| 2012-12-13 00:29|| Front Page Top

#2 Actually if that asteroid had exploded above New York in Tunguska fashion, NYC would be history.

Posted by European Conservative 2012-12-13 02:40|| 2012-12-13 02:40|| Front Page Top

#3 Don't get me excited, EC, it's too early in the morning! Whaddabout Detroit? Mecca? Qom? So many target, so few asteroids!

Posted by Bobby 2012-12-13 05:50|| 2012-12-13 05:50|| Front Page Top

#4 Detroit? Who would notice the difference?

Posted by European Conservative 2012-12-13 08:35|| 2012-12-13 08:35|| Front Page Top

#5 North America has thirteen big impact craters. So does Africa. South America has two, but a lot of South America has not been adequately surveyed. Europe has four big impact craters. Asia has five but again, a large area has not been adequately explored and the Tunguska strike was catastrophic and spectacular but it was not a metallic or stone meteor but largely an Ice meteor with no Crater effect after the event, to speak of.
Sweden has a crater nine km across. Finland has one 23 km across. Russia has one 14 miles across, near the arctic circle.
Arizona has that teeny one which is only a mile across. canada has multiple impacts. One is 28 km across and another is 100 km. wide.

The one off Yucatan was 170 km across and may have led to the extinction of a great deal of Earth life forms. There are Iridium traces from that one.The only others in South America are only 12 km across & Its in the Amazon. Most of Africas impacts were relatively small, a mile wide or so, except for one which was about 14 Km wide. Saudi has a cluster out in the middle of sand hell but they are negligible.

Tajikstan has one 45 km across. Australia has one 90 km across and another 24 km across the rest are small. India has a couple of small ones less than a mile across.
The spread across time is vast. Most are long before the human species.Germany has a relic crater which is very old about 300 Km across.

And only God knows how many fell in the Ocean over 500 million years. We get hit all the time if you consider Time, itself, as a very long measure. I own three meteors and a collection of Tektites. The biggest I have is about a foot across, the rest you can hold your hand. Those happen every day. Its not dangerous, just a curiosity. You just pay attention to your driving and settle your bills on time.

Posted by Threater Flusoper9823 2012-12-13 08:40|| 2012-12-13 08:40|| Front Page Top

#6 i looked into this stuff in detail a few years back. it's not possible for astronomers to see these "small" chunks of rock until they are a few days out (from collision with the Earth). nobody's really looking for them. NASA mostly checks the big asteroids that could annihilate the planet - they don't worry about the ankle biters. a chunk of rock the size of a football field could take out any major city on the planet. but right now we're really pretty blind - they either hit or they don't. move on folks ... nuthin' to see here.

Posted by Raider 2012-12-13 14:03|| 2012-12-13 14:03|| Front Page Top

#7 Wow nice collection TF. The big one stony or metallic?

Posted by Shipman 2012-12-13 14:50|| 2012-12-13 14:50|| Front Page Top

#8 Not dangerous, TF9823? What about Mrs. Hodge's hip? She could hardly walk after being wacked by one!

By the way - nice compilation of craters!

Posted by Bobby 2012-12-13 15:26|| 2012-12-13 15:26|| Front Page Top

#9 Bobby you left out DC.

Posted by AlanC 2012-12-13 15:37|| 2012-12-13 15:37|| Front Page Top

#10 Not big enough to fulfill the Mayan calendar prophecy of 12/21/12. These prophecies are worth about a dime a few dozen.

Posted by JohnQC 2012-12-13 18:05|| 2012-12-13 18:05|| Front Page Top

#11 Asteroid... well its better than branes in the multiverse impacting ours.

Posted by Water Modem 2012-12-13 20:44|| 2012-12-13 20:44|| Front Page Top

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