Asteroid Will Swing By, But Won't Stop

[Kor37 9]

Asteroid Will Swing By, but Won't Stop

By ALICIA CHANG,AP

Posted: 2008-01-24 16:24:42

LOS ANGELES (AP) - An asteroid at least 500 feet long will make a rare close pass by Earth next weeko measure its rotation and composition.

 

The 2007 TU24 rendezvous comes a day before another asteroid is projected to pass close to Mars.

 

Scientists have effectively ruled out a collision between the Red Planet and the asteroid 2007 WD5, estimating it will pass at a distance of more than 16,000 miles from the Martian surface. Initial observations of the Mars-bound asteroid put the odds of an impact at 1 in 25, but scientists later dropped the odds to 1 in 10,000.

 

Whew!