16 Foot Asteroid Passes Between Earth and Satellites
'''December 22, 2004'''

A small asteroid passed just under the orbit of [[w:geostationary|geostationary]] satellites (22,300 miles - 36,000 kilometers) Dec. 19.  The asteroid, named 2004 YD5, was roughly 16 feet (5 meters) wide.  If it had entered Earth's atmosphere, scientists believe it would have most likely exploded before impact.

2004 YD5 approached Earth from the direction of the sun, and as such was impossible to detect before it had passed.

==Sources ==
* {{source|title=Small Asteroid Passes Between Satellites and Earth|pub=Space.com|date=December 22, 2004|author=Robert Roy Britt|url=http://space.com/scienceastronomy/asteroid_close_041222.html}}


[[Category:December 22, 2004]]
[[Category:Space]] [[Category:Published]]
[[Category:Earth]]
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'December 22, 2004'

A small asteroid passed just under the orbit of geostationary satellites (22,300 miles - 36,000 kilometers) Dec. 19.  The asteroid, named 2004 YD5, was roughly 16 feet (5 meters) wide.  If it had entered Earth's atmosphere, scientists believe it would have most likely exploded before impact.

2004 YD5 approached Earth from the direction of the sun, and as such was impossible to detect before it had passed.
December 22, 2004 Space Published Earth