News - Local
2 Asteroids Passing Earth Will be Visible by Telescope
Posted: Sep 7, 2010 3:57 PM by Melissa Canone
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - NASA says two small asteroids discovered
just days ago will zip harmlessly past Earth on Wednesday, a double
flyby that should be visible through a telescope.
The asteroids were discovered Sunday by the NASA-funded Catalina
Sky Survey in Arizona. The Minor Planet Center in Massachusetts,
which tracks asteroids and comets, determined there was no chance
of an Earth collision.
Asteroid 2010 RX30, thought to be 32 to 65 feet long, will pass
within 154,000 miles of Earth shortly before 3 a.m. PDT Wednesday.
The second one, dubbed 2010 RF12, will fly by about 11 hours
later at a distance of about 49,000 miles. NASA says the second one
is 20 to 46 feet long.
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