A fifty meter wide asteroid passed close to the earth on Monday. The astronomer who spotted the asteroid said that there was nothing to worry about.
The asteroid called DD45 passed within twice the height of the satelites that gwe depend on for comunications. McNaught, who watches for asteroids with his telescope northwest of Sydney, Australia, discovered the approaching rock last week."It's not something to worry about, but something to be aware of," he said."If discovered in advance and with enough lead time, there is the possibility of pushing it off course, if you have decades of advance warning," McNaught said. "If you have only a few days, you can evacuate the area of impact, but there's not a great deal [else] you can do."
A global catastrophe was very unlikley he said, even thought hundreds of asteroids pass clode to the earth every year.
The 2009 DD45 asteroid circles the sun every 18 months, but its path will not threaten this planet at least for the next century, he said.
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