Image via Complex Original
According to NASA, every 37,000 years or so, our dear planet Earth is in serious danger of being stuck by a large asteroid (one measuring over 250 meters). The average life expectancy for most people sits at 78 years according to 2011 preliminary figures from the Centers for Disease Control. If the statistics say we can live 474 lifetimes before ever encountering an asteroid attack, there's no reason to worry, right? Not exactly. Seeing as how a majority of our closest encounters happened over the past few decades many are beginning to question how much longer can Earth continue to avoid cosmic disaster.
Just last week, Astronomers spotted a 900-foot-wide asteroid called Apophis that's set to pass by Earth today. The good news: It'll miss us by 9 million miles or so. The bad news: There's a good chance it will circle back our way in 2036. But if the past has proven anything, it's that the odds have served in humanity's favor. So as you aim your telescope towards the sky, we recommend peeping this Recent History of Asteroids Nearly Destroying Earth.
4581 Asclepius
Date: 3/23/1989
Astronomers Dr. Henry Holt and Norman G. Thomas discovered a 300-meter space rock, which geophysicists declared would have created an explosion twelve times more powerful than the Tsar Bomba: the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. Estimated calculations had Asclepius missing Earth by 430,000 miles, passing through the exact position the planet stood six hours earlier. To quote Dr. Holt, "On a cosmic scale of things, that was a close call." No kidding, Doc.
2004 FH
Date: 3/18/2004
The LINEAR (Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research) project identified the 30-meter asteroid before it passed us by 42,600 km-nearly one-tenth the distance from the Earth to the Moon. While miniature in size, the asteroid would have caused an explosion equal to hundreds of kilotons of TNT had it hit the Earth's surface. Experts would later confirm the blast would not have caused any serious ground level impact.
2004 FU
Date: 3/31/2004
Two weeks after 2004 FH passed, the asteroid known as 2004 FU set a new record for closest encounter, zipping 4,000 miles past the Earth. That's the least scariest part. Considering its minute size of only six meters, scientists were only able to detect FU a few hours before it nearly grazed our atmosphere. Could it have caused serious damage? Not likely, as the Earth's atmospheric friction would have burnt the rock to a crisp.
4179 Toutatis
Date: 9/29/2004
This space rock was first sighted back in February 1934 and was then referred to as object 1934 CT. Then astronomers lost track of it. Seventy years later, 4179 Toutatis resurfaced and made its closest contact with us, traveling within 1.5 million km of our planet. That's four lunar distances. Having dodged it once, researchers say the likelihood of a future collision is said to be small.
2004 XP14
Date: 7/3/2006
Due to its estimated size of 300 to 900 meters in diameter, 2004 XP14 had been classified as a PHA: Potentially Hazardous Asteroid. How close was it to hitting us? 268,624 miles. Or 1.1 times the Moon's average distance from Earth. After extensive monitoring, scientists correctly predicted XP14 would take a detour around Earth. But there's still a possibility of it striking in the near future.
2006 VV2
Date: 3/30/2007
The asteroid that flew past us on a Friday night in '07 at 11 p.m. missed its target and came within 2.1 million miles of contact. Scientists claim an asteroid of that magnitude could have wiped out an entire country. Seeing how VV2 had passed Southern California, had it penetrated the atmosphere, the U.S. would have been turned into a cavity.
2007 TU24
Date: 1/29/2008
The University of Arizona's Catalina Sky Survey discovered this space rock in October 2007, but its close encounter occurred three months later, traveling at a speed of 9.248 km/s and measuring 250 meters in diameter. Though its travel rate was marked at 1.4 lunar distances near the Earth, NASA's Near Earth Object Program claimed TU24 had no chance of hitting or affecting us.
2009 DD45
Date: 3/2/2009
Australian astronomers at the Siding Sprint Observatory discovered the 35-meter wide asteroid three days before its closest approach, which at the time was being compared to the theoretical object responsible for the Tunguska explosion that occurred in 1908. It had been projected to be twice as large as some telecommunications satellites and soaring about a fifth of the distance to the Moon. DD45 zipped by us at 74,800 km, impact-free.
2009 BD
Date: 6/25/2009
What was described as "an asteroid the size of a motorhome" by researchers slowly dipped by our planet, coming at a near distance of 215,000 miles. After analyzing the seven-meter-wide space rock's movements, scientists of NASA's Asteroid Watch program calmed everyone's nerves by tweeting the following: "2009 BD is a small object, 7 meters, & poses no threat." Further research has shown 2009 BD to still be in orbit as it makes a trip around the sun, remaining close to 10 lunar distances away from Earth.
2010 AL30
Date: 1/13/2010
Italian scientists Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero first documented AL30 as a spent rocket booster stuck in orbit. That theory was proved wrong after it was later confirmed to be a near-Earth asteroid calculated at 10-15 meters wide. The object passed within 130,000 km of our planet. Had it collided with Earth, the impact would have resulted in an air burst comparable to 100kt of TNT.
2011 CQ1
Date: 2/4/2011
This asteroid was discovered by Richard A Kowalski at the Catalina Sky Survey, measured in at 1.2 meters wide and zipped within 3,400 miles of us. Recognized as a part of the Apollo-class orbit, Don Yeomans of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported the CQ1 of being so close to the Earth's surface that it's path curved 60 degrees-making it the biggest orbital change ever recorded. "We'll probably never be close enough to it again to be able to pick its dim light out from the background of stars," said Emily Lakdawalla of the Planetary Society. Well, that's reassuring.
2011 MD
Date: 6/28/2011
The Apollo asteroid flew passed us at a distance of 20,000 km over the Atlantic Ocean two summers ago. LINEAR discovered 2011 MD using robotic telescopes in New Mexico, recording object lengths between 10 and 45 meters, while Astronomy Now's Emily Baldwin reported there was no threat as the asteroid would "mostly burn up in a brilliant fireball, possibly scattering a few meteorites." Phew.
2005 YU55
Date: 11/8/2011
Our most recent threat came within 324,604 kilometers of Earth, making it the biggest asteroid to come near the planet in over 35 years. Measured larger than the size of an aircraft carrier (400 meters), scientists had dismissed all risks of impact in advance and have monitored its recent activity, which looks to be headed in the direction of the Sun. However, future trajectory has YU55 passing us again on Nov. 12, 2041, nearly 9,300,000 miles from the Earth.