Avi Blizovsky
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/neo100603.html
Again a space rock approached the Earth, but compared to the rock of
Last week (see link below "An act in a space rock") it came much closer to Earth. This is now the recorded object that came closest to the Earth (not including of course those that collided with it).
It too, like its predecessor, would not have caused any damage if it had collided because it would have burned up entirely in the atmosphere. It was discovered by astronomers at the Lovell Observatory in Arizona, who conduct a survey of the sky for Near Earth Objects or NEOs for short.
The rock with a diameter of 4-8 meters passed only 88 thousand kilometers from the Earth on September 27, 2003. This distance is 0.23 the distance from the Earth to the Moon. The object, dubbed 2003 SQ222, was discovered 11 hours after its closest point to Earth.
The observations were made by professional and amateur astronomers and the series of observations made it possible to estimate its orbit. It orbits the sun once every 1.85 years.
The experts say that it is a very small object that does not even reach the minimum necessary to endanger the earth, even it, like its predecessor, might have provided us with a spectacular sight of a meteor shower or fireball when it burned up in the atmosphere.
The previous record for the closest asteroid miss was 108 km in 1994 by an object called 1994 XM1 and it was also about the size of 2003 SQ222.
For news at the BBC
An act in a tiny space rock. The scientist, 29/9/03
They knew cosmic collisions
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