Killer Asteroid Can Still Surprise
The main reason NASA has managed to locate the vast majority of large asteroids in our vicinity is because they tend to hang out in the same narrow slice of space. So rather than observing the entire sky, they can concentrate on a small region. This is also why they are less successful at discovering comets – they can come from any direction and amateurs are looking at places that NASA is not.
Initially, 2012 LZ1 was thought to be about the size of a city block, but based on its brightness as it cruised by the planet, scientists now say the asteroid’s true size is twice that, measuring about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) across at its widest part.
The newfound asteroid was first seen on June 10 at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. Since the near-Earth object was detected less than a week before it flew past the planet, astronomers only had rough calculations of the asteroid’s measurements at the time.[MSNBC]
So, despite NASA’s assurances, a killer asteroid could be spotted just days before impact. Imagine the panic as people try to purchase food and water. Imagine how smart you would be to already have your survival supplies in place.
One of the reasons for its late discovery is because it was detected in Southern Hemisphere skies, part of the world were we have few asteroid-watching programs. If it had been on a collision course with Earth, a few days notice is no time at all. [Discovery]
