Asteroid to approach Earth on Thursday

[mfcorey1]

Asteroid to approach Earth on Thursday
Published On: May 12 2015 10:53:37 AM EDT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

A large asteroid will just miss the Earth at 7:25 a.m. Thursday, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

This may not sound that close, but asteroid 1999-FN53 is of the size/speed that if it were to hit the Earth, the impact would be catastrophic. Some published reports suggest up to 1.5 billion people would die from the immediate impact.

Before we worry about the incredibly remote possibilities, keep in mind we have already had a close call this year. In March, asteroid 2014-YB35, came within 3 million miles of Earth. That's about 10 times further away than the moon and half the distance of the asteroid passing us Thursday.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/asteroid-to-approach-earth-on-thursday/32960880

[Maedhros]

1. The thing to keep in mind is that these near-misses have been happening

for as long as humans have walked the Earth. We're just capable of being aware of them, now.

[Laffy Kat]

2. Let's say a collision with an asteroid was imminent:

Who would want to know? What is there to put in order? Should we tell children? Interesting questions to ponder.