A newly discovered car-sized asteroid just made the closest-known flyby to Earth without hitting our planet.
On Sunday (Aug. 16), the asteroid, initially labeled ZTF0DxQ and now formally known to astronomers as 2020 QG , swooped by Earth at a mere 1,830 miles (2,950 kilometers) away. That gives 2020 QG the title of closest asteroid flyby ever recorded that didn't end with the space rock's demise.
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Video: See asteroid 2020 QG's orbit around the sun!
Related: Potentially dangerous asteroids (images)
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Japan's Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return capsule cleared for landing in Australia | Space
Japan's asteroid-sampling mission is officially clear to return its precious cargo to Australia in December, according to statements from both countries' governments.
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft is trekking back to Earth with a sample capsule full of material snagged from a near-Earth asteroid called Ryugu . The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which runs the mission, has long planned to deposit that capsule in the vast desert of Australia, but the new announcement marks that country's official approval of the plan.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission prepares for touchdown on an asteroid - CNN
(CNN) This week, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft conducted a final rehearsed of all of the maneuvers it will need to touchdown on the asteroid Bennu and collect a sample from it in the fall.
A massive asteroid shower hit Earth and the moon 800 million years ago, study says - CNN
(CNN) Over the course of Earth's ancient history, our planet has been blitzed with a variety of foreign objects, some of which may have triggered major events shaping this place we now call home.
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Arecibo Observatory Returns from Tropical Storm Isaias Lockdown to Track Asteroid for NASA – NASA
ORLANDO, Aug. 6, 2020 – The Earth has one less asteroid to worry about thanks to the research of an international team of scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
Asteroid 2020 NK1 was spotted in early July by the the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey team at the University of Hawaii. Little was known about the asteroid, making it difficult to predict exactly where the asteroid would travel in the future. It was estimated to be 1,600 feet in diameter, about the length of five football fields.
Here's how 2 Indian schoolgirls discovered a 'Mars-Crosser' asteroid | Space
It's not every day that two Indian schoolgirls spot a space rock that scientists haven't yet, but that's exactly what happened this summer in a stroke of cosmic good luck.
Radhika Lakhani and Vaidehi Vekariya, two students in Surat, a city in Gujarat in western India, were taking part in a citizen-science project using astronomical data when they realized they were seeing something new. That something turned out to be an asteroid now dubbed 2020 OE6.
An asteroid the size of a car just zipped by Earth in close flyby | Space
A car-sized asteroid discovered over the weekend made a close flyby of Earth today (July 28), passing our planet at a range that rivals the orbits of some high-flying satellites.
The asteroid 2020 OY4, which was first detected on Sunday (July 26), made its closest approach today at 1:31 a.m. EDT (0531 GMT) when it zipped by Earth at a speed of about 27,700 mph (44,600 km/h), according to the European Space Agency . The asteroid is just under 10 feet (3 meters) wide and posed no impact risk to Earth, but did approach the flight paths of geosynchronous satellites.
NASA's planetary science program shifts priority to asteroid missions - SpaceNews
WASHINGTON — With a flagship Mars rover mission launched, NASA's planetary science division is turning its attention to a pair of asteroid missions set to launch next year.
During an Aug. 17 meeting of NASA's Planetary Science Advisory Committee, Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division, noted that once the pandemic began earlier this year, the division's highest priority was to ensure a successful launch of the Mars 2020 mission this summer.
Mars 2020 successfully launched July 30 and is en route to Mars, slated to land there next February. "We met that launch window and achieved that," she said.
Happening on Twitter
Huge asteroid narrowly misses Earth - and NASA admits it 'didn't see it coming' https://t.co/wy34GXJ3jz https://t.co/0kv7PgtR48 MirrorTech (from UK) Wed Aug 19 09:34:11 +0000 2020
This was closest known non-impacting asteroid on record https://t.co/Rs7KnWDkAo Gizmodo Wed Aug 19 16:54:05 +0000 2020
A car sized 'near earth object' (NEO) just flew within 1800 miles of the Earth. I've done you a diagram to help you… https://t.co/JjPSQcWsw1 dallascampbell (from London) Tue Aug 18 20:57:35 +0000 2020
It zoomed by at just 1,830 miles (2,950 kilometers) away, which is closer than some satellites. https://t.co/iZOrwwRnJV accuweather (from State College, PA) Thu Aug 20 02:00:12 +0000 2020
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