So apparently a double asteroid flew by Earth about two weeks ago. Did you hear about it? I sure didn’t.
“On May 25th, 2019, a strange, double-asteroid (1999 KW4) flew past Earth at a distance and speed that is likely to make a lot of people nervous.” (link)
They call it a fly-by but it was 5.2 million km (or 3.23 million miles) away from Earth. Close enough, I’d say.
Thank goodness we have the people over at the IAWN or the
INTERNATIONAL ASTEROID WARNING NETWORK
“The IAWN (pronounced ‘eyewahn’) is an organization of asteroid observers, orbit computers, physical property specialists, radar astronomers, and other scientists and communication experts that study asteroids, specifically near-Earth objects or NEOs. The IAWN is a United Nations-sanctioned organization.” (link)
IAWNs observing campaigns are needed for short-timescales, that is to say – if an asteroid is coming, we need observational data on it pronto.
I’m happy to know that people, organizations, and countries are watching for asteroids.
As a matter of fact, I think I’ll look into getting an inexpensive telescope for myself. Just to keep an extra eye on the sky.