Astronomers See Rock Approach From Space
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A 100-foot-wide space rock hurtled past Earth only 26,500 miles away -- the closest asteroid ever detected by astronomers before it actually made its approach.
The harmless flyby occurred at 2:08 p.m. PST.
“We figure that on average, something this size hits the Earth every two to three years,” said astronomer Paul Chodas of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program.
“We’ve never detected them out in space, either approaching or receding. This is the closest.”
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