Tag: Asteroid

Christmas Asteroid Fly By

Posted on by Carmen Roberts

An asteroid the size of two football fields is set to pass by Earth today. 

The giant asteroid should be at its closest to Earth around 3:20 p.m. Eastern time.

The giant space rock will zip by our planet this afternoon at a speed of around 22-thousand miles an hour. NASA says the asteroid, dubbed 501647, will come within 1.9 million miles of Earth. Scientists say that’s a close fly by because any object that makes it within about 4.5 million miles is considered “potentially hazardous.” A much smaller asteroid will also fly by today but it won’t get as close. Only about 3.5 million miles from us. Carmen Roberts. Fox News.

Japan Brings Back Unique Asteroid Samples

Posted on by Carmen Roberts

Japanese spacecraft delivers asteroid dust from 180 million miles away in space.

Hayabusa2 Swings by Earth to Deliver Asteroid Samples

After spending 6 years in space, Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft swung by Earth and delivered precious samples from a distant asteroid. Pieces of dust and soil that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on Earth. On board a capsule launched from the spacecraft are the world’s first subsurface samples from an asteroid. These came from Ryugu about 180-million miles and one year away. Hayabusa2’s work won’t end today. The spacecraft’s already on its way to another distant asteroid. A journey that will take 10 years – one way. Carmen Roberts Fox News.