Asteroid Zoomed 'near' Earth Late Wednesday, Astronomers Say Asteroids Near Earth 2019
, USA TODAY
Published 2:49 p.m. ET July 26, 2019 | Updated 4:53 p.m. ET July 26, 2019
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Americans prefer a space program focusing on potential asteroid impacts, scientific research into our cosmos and robotic space probes over human exploration of Mars or the moon, a new poll shows. (June 20)
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Had it hit the Earth, “it would have gone off like a very large nuclear weapon” with enough force to destroy a city, Brown told the Post.
Binzel told USA TODAY that the region damaged would be "an area comparable to inside the Washington beltway."
How did we miss it? Basically it was hard to spot due to its (relatively) small size, eccentric orbit and its fast speed, Brown said. Binzel elaborated on this point, noting that the object "is below the long-term advance detection limit of any system in place."
NASA is aware of threats from asteroids. In June 2018, NASA released its "National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan" to help improve the country’s ability to address the hazards of near-Earth objects such as asteroids.
That same report detailed the threat of even small NEOs, such as one in 2013 that created the explosion near Chelyabinsk and injured more than 1,100 people.
Contributing: Jordan Culver, USA TODAY
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