How often does an asteroid whiz by the Earth? The above time-lapse animation [
http://cfa-www.harv…] follows the orbit of the Earth around the Sun for two months in 2002 as numerous asteroids [
http://en.wikipedia…], also known as minor planets [
http://en.wikipedia…], approach and pass by. Some asteroids appear out of nowhere [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] as they are plotted only when they were discovered. Most asteroids plotted were discovered only [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] during the previous year. Although none of the plotted objects came inside the orbit of our Moon, our Solar System is filled with objects [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] as small as bits of sand, usually left by a comet, that appear as meteors as they streak into the Earth's atmosphere every day. The only objects displayed are those visible from Earth [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] closer than 20 million kilometers, color coded by three-dimensional distance. In comparison, the Earth is a relatively small target having a radius of about 6,400 kilometers. One significant research area [
http://pan-starrs.i…] in modern astronomy involves trying to find the majority of asteroids that could pose a future collision threat [
http://neo.jpl.nasa…] with Earth.
Explanation
How often does an asteroid whiz by the Earth? The above time-lapse animation [
http://cfa-www.harv…] follows the orbit of the Earth around the Sun for two months in 2002 as numerous asteroids [
http://en.wikipedia…], also known as minor planets [
http://en.wikipedia…], approach and pass by. Some asteroids appear out of nowhere [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] as they are plotted only when they were discovered. Most asteroids plotted were discovered only [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] during the previous year. Although none of the plotted objects came inside the orbit of our Moon, our Solar System is filled with objects [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] as small as bits of sand, usually left by a comet, that appear as meteors as they streak into the Earth's atmosphere every day. The only objects displayed are those visible from Earth [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] closer than 20 million kilometers, color coded by three-dimensional distance. In comparison, the Earth is a relatively small target having a radius of about 6,400 kilometers. One significant research area [
http://pan-starrs.i…] in modern astronomy involves trying to find the majority of asteroids that could pose a future collision threat [
http://neo.jpl.nasa…] with Earth.
Explanation
