# Asteroid Passes Within 7500 Miles Of Us? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 27, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072 "2011-06-27T23:08:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/1 "2011-06-27T23:08:07Z")
I just caught the tail end of this story on the news. Can anyone fill us in? Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/2 "2011-06-27T23:12:50Z")
Looks like we [dodged a bullet](http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/0627/Asteroid-2011-MD-buzzes-Earth-nearer-than-some-satellites). 7500 miles is nothing in astronomical terms. The Clarke Belt, where our geostationary satellites sit is 22,236 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/3 "2011-06-27T23:14:41Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Looks like we just[barely dodged a bullet](http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/0627/Asteroid-2011-MD-buzzes-Earth-nearer-than-some-satellites). According to that article there was never any chance of it hitting us, and even if it had it would have burned up in the atmosphere. Not much of a bullet! ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/4 "2011-06-27T23:32:38Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > According to that article there was never any chance of it hitting us, and even if it had it would have burned up in the atmosphere. Not much of a bullet! I was worried about it hitting one of the satellites. **You** may not worry about DirecTV, but some of us do. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/5 "2011-06-27T23:33:22Z")
What kind of damage were we looking at if it should hit? ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/6 "2011-06-27T23:36:37Z")
Here’s what Phil Plait said about it. [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/06/26/rv-sized-asteroid-will-buzz-the-earth-on-monday/](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/06/26/rv-sized-asteroid-will-buzz-the-earth-on-monday/) ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/7 "2011-06-27T23:36:56Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > What kind of damage were we looking at if it should hit? According to that article there was never any chance of it hitting us, and even if it had it would have burned up in the atmosphere. Not much of a bullet! ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/8 "2011-06-27T23:37:59Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I was worried about it hitting one of the satellites. **You** may not worry about DirecTV, but some of us do. The same article says that the chance of it hitting a tiny satellite in the vastness of space were infinitesimally low. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/9 "2011-06-27T23:41:59Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > According to that article there was never any chance of it hitting us, and even if it had it would have burned up in the atmosphere. Not much of a bullet! Yeah, but the day is gonna come when we get hit by a big one. Mark my words. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/10 "2011-06-27T23:53:44Z")
If a big one _were_ going to hit somewhere on our continent, I doubt they’d warn us. What do y’all think? Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/11 "2011-06-27T23:56:43Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > According to that article there was never any chance of it hitting us, and even if it had it would have burned up in the atmosphere. Not much of a bullet! National Geographic quotes an [MIT planetary scientist](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/06/110627-asteroid-earth-close-pass-weiss-moon-space-science/?source=link_fb20110626asteroidbuzz) saying that the asteroid was large enough and fast enough to make it to the ground, and leave a good-sized hole, too. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/12 "2011-06-28T00:12:22Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > If a big one _were_ going to hit somewhere on our continent, I doubt they’d warn us. What do y’all think? > > Thanks > > Q Depends on where they expect the impact and how much warning they could give. Two hours to evacuate Houston? Probably wouldn’t bother. Two days to evacuate Bum Fuck? Clear it out and sell tickets to the show. I think a good sized strike could be a good thing. Remind the human race that we are living on borrowed time. Make hay while the sun (still) shines. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/13 "2011-06-28T00:22:17Z")
According to that article there was never any chance of it hitting us, and even if it had it would have burned up in the atmosphere. Not much of a bullet! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/14 "2011-06-28T01:34:54Z")
Yeah, but what I wanna know is: What did the article say, and would it have been much of a bullet? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/15 "2011-06-28T02:59:58Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Depends on where they expect the impact and how much warning they could give. Two hours to evacuate Houston? Probably wouldn’t bother. Well, given how the Houston freeway system became 60 miles of parking lot in every direction when Hurricane Rita was expected to hit in '05, that sounds about right. Anyway, was there ever much chance of it hitting us, or would it have just burned up in the atmosphere? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/16 "2011-06-28T03:12:01Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Anyway, was there ever much chance of it hitting us, or would it have just burned up in the atmosphere? My guess that it had a significant chance of hitting us and would have caused great damages had it done so. I’m pretty sure that reading related articles will confirm this. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/17 "2011-06-28T03:21:01Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Depends on where they expect the impact and how much warning they could give. Two hours to evacuate Houston? Probably wouldn’t bother. Two days to evacuate Bum Fuck? Clear it out and sell tickets to the show. > . I suspect that Quasimodem had more in mind a “big one” wipping out life on half a continent or something like that. Anyway, it would definitely make sense to issue warnings on all conceivable channels if it was going to hit Houston in two hours. Some people at least would manage to leave the area in time, and others heading towards it would change their plans in time. Most certainly it would save a significant number of lives. Now, if the asteroid is going to destroy most of north America (or in my case most of Europe), I’m not sure it would make sense to warn people. As an individual, I probably would want to know, but if I were in power, I’m not convinced I would mention the impeding doom (even though, on second thought I could apply the same reasoning I used above for Houston. Some lives at least would be saved by doing so). ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/18 "2011-06-28T03:24:46Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > If a big one _were_ going to hit somewhere on our continent, I doubt they’d warn us. What do y’all think? > > Thanks > > Q I think anyone who thinks this is paranoid. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/19 "2011-06-28T05:04:29Z")
What’s everyone so worked up about? So there’s an asteroid. Big deal. It’ll burn up in atmosphere and whatever’s left will be no bigger than a Chihuahua’s head. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072/20 "2011-06-28T05:21:51Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > What’s everyone so worked up about? So there’s an asteroid. Big deal. It’ll burn up in atmosphere and whatever’s left will be no bigger than a Chihuahua’s head. So… bigger than a bullet then? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-passes-within-7500-miles-of-us/587072.md?page=2)