Newly discovered asteroid: 2011 MD closest approach 17.03 UT (just above 12,000km)
Post categories: orbit
|17:00 UK time, Monday, 27 June 2011
Distance travelled ~ 457'958'400 km: day 178
Image courtesy of NASA
(At closest approach, 2011 MD will pass in broad daylight over the southern Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Antarctica. As the asteroid recedes from Earth, it will pass through the zone of geosynchronous satellites. The chances of a collision with a satellite or manmade space junk are extremely small, albeit not zero.)
Kate Humble:
Helen Czerski:
Stephen Marsh:
Aira Idris:
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