Thanks to powerful telescopes that can detect large objects at extreme distances, we earthlings have a pretty good idea of the space rocks that pose threats to Earth. However, every once in a while nature reminds us that it still has some potentially apocalyptic surprises in store, and that’s exactly what happened yesterday when an asteroid as large as 427 feet across appeared seemingly out of nowhere, speeding past Earth at an alarmingly close distance.
The rock, now named 2019 OK, came within a scant 43,500 miles of Earth, which is far closer than the Moon is to Earth, and astronomers didn’t even know it was there until it was already upon us. The Sun, it turns out, is to blame for our lack of awareness.
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A surprisingly large asteroid just sneaked up on Earth, and the Sun is to blame originally appeared on BGR.com on Fri, 26 Jul 2019 at 16:36:17 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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