{"id":26454,"date":"2017-10-03T17:25:29","date_gmt":"2017-10-03T22:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=26454"},"modified":"2017-10-03T17:25:29","modified_gmt":"2017-10-03T22:25:29","slug":"a-house-sized-asteroid-will-skim-by-earth-in-a-matter-of-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=26454","title":{"rendered":"A House-Sized Asteroid Will \u2018Skim By\u2019 Earth In A Matter Of Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

A House-Sized Asteroid Will \u2018Skim By\u2019 Earth In A Matter Of Days<\/a><\/h3>\n
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<\/ins><\/ins><\/ins>\"asteroid\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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On October 12, an asteroid the size of a house will barely miss earth as it skims by at a distance of 27,000 miles. This will be a close call considering the size of the otherworldly body.<\/p>\n

Asteroid 2012 TC4 will skim by earth a little too close for comfort.\u00a0The latest observations, made on July 27, 31, and then again on August 5, revealed 2012 TC4\u00a0will pass within one-eighth of the moon\u2019s distance from the planet.<\/a><\/p>\n

Scientists believe it will\u00a0shave past Earth at a distance of around 44,000 kilometers. That\u2019s only 27,300 miles.\u00a0With this close approach,\u00a0NASA\u00a0will have the opportunity to test its network of observatories for its planetary defense system, in case an asteroid did actually hit Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cScientists have always appreciated knowing when an asteroid will make a close approach to and safely pass the Earth because they can make preparations to collect data to characterize and learn as much as possible about it,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Michael Kelley, a scientist working on the NASA TC4 observation campaign<\/a>. \u201cThis time we are adding in another layer of effort, using this asteroid flyby to test the worldwide asteroid detection and tracking network, assessing our capability to work together in response to finding a potential real asteroid threat.\u201d<\/p>\n