A giant asteroid has zoomed past our planet on Monday night at a speed of 27,000 miles per hour. The enormous rock is aproximately 855 feet in diameter: thats as big as three football fields! However, for those of you apocalypse enthusiasts out there, the asteroid was never really a threat -- the closest it came to Earth was about 2 million miles. Dubbed 2000 EM26 was discovered on March 5th 2000 and has been carefully monitored ever since.
The giant asteroid was carefully watched by astronomers and star gazers alike. It was streamed live by astronomy site Slooh.com which showed images from a telescope located in Dubai. However, those seeking a thrilling spectacle were sadly disappointed: there was not really a lot to see other than a very beautiful night sky. The asteroid passed too far away from Earth to be properly apperciated. It would be like trying to see Pluto, the galaxy's newest planet-turned-asteroid.
The asteroid passed by the planet almost a year since a small asteroid blew up over Russia. The 60-foot rock plunged into Earth's atmosphere and exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk, leaving 1,500 people injured due to shattering windows and damaged buildings. The blast was so strong, it was compared to the explosion of early nuclear bombs. This latest asteroid has led to some speculation as to just how vulnerable we might be to stray asteroids.
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