# Huge asteroid to fly closely past Earth **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433 "2006-06-28T02:00:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/1 "2006-06-28T02:00:45Z")
[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13556129/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13556129/) > [@](#): > > An asteroid possibly as large as a half-mile or more in diameter is rapidly approaching the Earth. There is no need for concern, for no collision is in the offing, but the space rock will make an exceptionally close approach to our planet early on Monday, July 3, passing just beyond the Moon’s average distance from Earth. I’m looking forward to the pictures, if any are successfully made. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/2 "2006-06-28T02:25:14Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13556129/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13556129/) > > I’m looking forward to the pictures, if any are successfully made. As long as they don’t look like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB3G0rvCIJc&search=asteroid). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/3 "2006-06-28T11:36:53Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > As long as they don’t look like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB3G0rvCIJc&search=asteroid). 🙂 Heh. Reminds me of a dream I had the other night. Met up with an old girlfriend, we walk down the street catching up on old times. We look up, and a shooting star flies overhead. “Ooh look at that, how romantic,” she says, pointing. “It’s true. I wonder if it means we were always supposed to be togeth…wait a minute. That’s not a shooting star, it looks more like a _shooting moon_.” “A shooting moon? What does that mean?” “I don’t know. Unless…oh, shit! ASTEROID!!!” _ **KABLOOOIEE!!!** _ ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/4 "2006-06-28T11:41:03Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > As long as they don’t look like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB3G0rvCIJc&search=asteroid). 🙂 I’m not sure what she was sayin’, but I don’t think it was good. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/5 "2006-06-28T12:04:00Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > “I don’t know. Unless…oh, shit! ASTEROID!!!” > _ **KABLOOOIEE!!!** _ While finding the correct word might not be a large issue when you’re a few moments from planetary destruction, the proper word is [meteorite](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/meteorite),\* not [asteroid](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/asteroid). - I will note that I had thought it to be “meteor” but the Wiktionary is saying that that is only referring the the light streak. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/6 "2006-06-28T15:01:03Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > While finding the correct word might not be a large issue when you’re a few moments from planetary destruction, the proper word is [meteorite](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/meteorite),\* not [asteroid](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/asteroid). > > - I will note that I had thought it to be “meteor” but the Wiktionary is saying that that is only referring the the light streak. I think you mean “meteoroid”, here, **Sage Rat.** That’s the one smaller than an asteroid. If it’s an asteroid, it stays as an asteroid even when Earth gets in the way. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/7 "2006-06-28T21:05:00Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > I’m not sure what she was sayin’, but I don’t think it was good. “Kyoo no tema wa kore desu!” - “Oooo!” ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/8 "2006-06-28T22:33:23Z")
That was a good video, and thanks for it. I think I got the gist of it without understanding Japanese. Did I understand a word for “magma” in there? Anyway: Meteoroid=A smaller body than an asteroid in space. Meteor=Same, but falling thru the earth’s atmosphere. Meteorite=Same, but resting on/in the earth’s surface after impact. I don’t usually use Wikipedia for cites, but this is not very esoteric, and aligns quite nicely with what I learned in Astronomy class: [Defs of meteoroid/meteor/meteorite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/9 "2006-07-04T14:41:09Z")
Were astronomers able to get any photos? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/10 "2006-07-04T14:57:17Z")
> [@Ice Wolf](#): > > I think you mean “meteoroid”, here, **Sage Rat.** That’s the one smaller than an asteroid. > > If it’s an asteroid, it stays as an asteroid even when Earth gets in the way. I don’t think this has ever been formally decided one way or another. The Chicxulub impact was of course the original and eponymic _dinosaur killer_. Craters resulting from asteroids having impacted earth are _astroblemes_. I suspect it may be best to let the survivors of an asteroid impact decide what to call it. If there are any. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/11 "2006-07-04T15:39:08Z")
You realize I heard this story on the news about half an hour after finishing reading Heinlein’s _The Puppet Masters_ for the first time? Are we _sure_ this thing didn’t make a landing? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/12 "2006-07-04T16:12:21Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > “Kyoo no tema wa kore desu!” - “Oooo!” So _that’s_ what the Chairman’s been saying. The subtitles have it all wrong. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-asteroid-to-fly-closely-past-earth/362433/13 "2006-07-05T00:14:52Z")
I was wondering–I know that if an asteroid that’s large enough hits the Earth we’re all toast. But how close–without touching–can an asteroid scrape past Earth without killing all or most life on Earth? That would include not boiling away the oceans and atmosphere, thereby consigning people left on Earth to a grim, short existence after witnessing this event. I’m talking about enough of a jolt to startle the inhabitants, not wipe us out.