Paging Mr. Willis, Giant Asteroid on the Way

June 30, 2006 | Post Archive

An asteroid discovered in December of 2004, named 2004 XP14, will do a little Earth "window shopping" this Monday, July 3rd. The specter of giant space rocks hurtling toward Earth isn't exactly the magnificent aerial display we Americans are used to, but no need to worry -- it's nothing Bruce Willis and a power ballad can't handle.

Seriously, though, there's nothing to worry about. Brian Marsden, the director of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge Massachusetts, told the New York Post, "It won't be necessary to run for cover. Just enjoy the close approach." But how close is close?

Compared to the distance from the Earth to the moon, somewhere between 220,000 and 250,000 miles, the asteroid isn't very close at all. Astronomers expect the asteroid's distance to be just less than 300,000 miles away.

Given the scope of the universe, wouldn't fifty-thousand miles or so seem like cosmic pocket change? Not really. In fact, seeing the asteroid through an amateur-grade, 3-inch telescope will render the star-like boulder a majestic...[no drum roll necessary]...tiny white dot, not unlike a shooting star.

Before you become too complacent, never looking to the heavens wondering if a cosmic catastrophe is lurking, you should know that 2004 XP14 is on a list of potentially harmful asteroids -- 104 in all -- that could one day strike Earth. Not only do astronomers maintain a list of precarious asteroids, they have a list of predicted collisions with the Earth -- indicating the very day of impact -- ranging the span of more than a hundred years from now.

Marsden and other galaxy watchdogs believe that large asteroids can be prevented from colliding with Earth if preparations begin well in advance. He estimates that it will take 30 years of preparation to adequately administer deflection. That way, if initial attempts to reroute an asteroid fail, another attempt can be me promptly enough to avoid catastrophe. (link)