Ye-ouch... not the first time, by any means... still a surprise when you hear it.



Surprise asteroid nearly hits home
June 20, 2002 Posted: 5:39 PM EDT (2139 GMT)


By Richard Stenger
CNN

(CNN) -- An asteroid the size of a football field passed extremely close to Earth last week but it remained undetected until days later, astronomers said Thursday.

The space rock missed our planet Friday by only 75,000 miles (120,000 km), about one-third the distance to the moon, making the near collision one of the closest ever recorded.

Cruising at 6.2 miles (10 km) per second, the big boulder could have unleashed some major firepower had it struck, according to the NEO (Near Earth Objects) Information Center in Leicester, England.

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http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/0...iss/index.html