What if 2005 yu55

An asteroid four football fields long will pass near Earth on Nov. A space rock this big hasn't come this close in 35 years: It will fly by at a distance of just , miles , kilometers , which is actually inside the orbit of the moon.

NASA has assured the world that the asteroid, officially named YU55, poses no threat to our planet. But what about our planet's loyal sidekick? Is the moon in danger? Like two ships passing in the night, they'll miss each other by more than , miles , km. But, out of curiosity, what if YU55 were on a collision course with the moon? While there is no danger of it hitting the planet, a Purdue asteroid impact expert says a similar-sized object hitting Earth would result in a 4,megaton blast, magnitude 7.

NASA scientists reported this week that the asteroid YU55 will pass between the Earth and the moon and come within , miles of Earth on its closest approach. Jay Melosh , an expert in impact cratering and a distinguished professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, physics, and aerospace engineering at Purdue, said the asteroid's orbit and trajectory mean there is no chance of an impact.

A larger number of smaller objects have yet to be found, however. This close approach has been expected since then, he said. Melosh used the asteroid impact effects calculator he developed to estimate what would happen if the asteroid, which is a quarter mile in diameter, hit the Earth. The calculator, "Impact: Earth! Users first enter a few parameters, such as the diameter of the approaching object, its density, velocity, angle of entry and where it will hit the Earth.

The site then estimates the consequences of its impact, including the atmospheric blast wave, ground shaking, size of tsunami generated, fireball expansion, distribution of debris and size of the crater produced.

Purdue University distinguished professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences, physics, and aerospace engineering Jay Melosh says the the orbit and trajectory the asteroid flies on at this point pose no danger to us or the planet. This particular asteroid was discovered back in by the Spacewatch program.

Some of the consequences the calculator estimates include the atmospheric blast wave, the amount of ground shaking, the size of tsunamis, the expansion of the fireball, as well as the distribution of debris and the size of the resulting crater. Softpedia Homepage.