[SEL] O.T O.T. O.T. - any chemist on the List?

[Steve W.]

paulmaples at sbcglobal.net wrote:
> Darn it Arnie, now you have given me something else to worry about, I never 
> gave a runaway meteorite a thought.
> 
> Paul

One just missed the Earth by 40K miles
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,503164,00.html


 Wait! Did you hear that whooshing sound?

A small asteroid buzzed by Earth Monday, though only real astronomy
geeks in the Pacific would have noticed.

The rock, estimated to be no more than 200 feet wide, zoomed past our
planet at an altitude of 40,000 miles at 1:44 p.m. universal time — or
8:44 EST.

Dubbed 2009 DD45, it was discovered only on Friday by Australian
astronomers.

Forty thousand miles may sound like a lot, but it's only about
one-seventh of the way to the moon, and less than twice as far out as
many telecommunications satellites.

Had 2009 DD45 hit the Earth, it would have exploded on or near the
surface with the force of a large nuclear blast — not very reassuring
when you consider humanity had only about three days' notice.

According to the Australian news Web site Crikey, the asteroid is likely
to be drawn in by Earth's gravity, meaning it may return for many more
near misses in the future.

-- 
Steve