Tiny Asteroid Zips Close By Earth

Tiny Asteroid Zips Close By Earth

A tiny asteroid passed close by Earth Friday (Feb. 4) but posed no threat of impacting our planet – or even reaching the surface, NASA officials say.

The small asteroid, called 2011 CQ 1, passed within 3,400 miles (5471 km) of Earth at about 2:40 p.m. EST (1940 GMT). The close pass occurred just hours after the asteroid was discovered by astronomer Richard A. Kowalski, according to scientists at Remanzacco Observatory in Italy, who snapped a photo of the asteroid taken soon after it was spotted.

Asteroid 2011 CQ 1 is only 4 feet (1.3 meters) wide, so small that it would have incinerated in Earth's atmosphere before reaching the ground, according to officials with NASA's Asteroid Watch program. The asteroid never threatened to hit Earth, they said.


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http://www.space.com/10778-tiny-asteroid-passes-earth.html

Kennedy wrote:Tiny Asteroid Zips Close By Earth

The close pass occurred just hours after the asteroid was discovered by astronomer Richard A. Kowalski,l

A little unnerving, though I do understand thats a lot of space to keep an eye on.