Near-Earth asteroid 2011 MD passed only 12,300 kilometers (7,600 miles) above the Earth's surface on Monday June 27, 2011 at about 1:00 PM EDT. This asteroid was only discovered 5 days earlier by a team from New Mexico. It was about the size of a small house. Had it hit the earth, even over water, we would be in a very serious situation today.
The part of this news that should open most eyes is that there was essentially no warning. So many trust, at some level that science and government has a plan to protect us from these stellar threats but this event proves that we cannot trust in man. Even if the governments of the world had an actionable plan to destroy or deflect a stone house hurtling at us at over 40,000 Km/Hr, could they execute that plan in less than 5 days? I don't think so.
This the closest near-miss we've had on record, although not the only. There have been over 8 near-misses in the last year including a similarly-sized rock on June 2... and there are more to come.
2012 DA14 will pass within about 3.5 Earth radii of the Earth's surface on February 15, 2013. Although its size is not clear, this object is thought to be about 45 meters in diameter. Asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass inside the geosynchronous satellite ring, located about 35,800 km above the equator. It will achieve a magnitude of less than seven, which will make it hard to see without a telescope. About 4 minutes after its Earth close approach, there is a good chance it will pass into the Earth's shadow for about 18 minutes or so before reappearing from the eclipse.
More space rocks are coming our way (two to be exact) and according to the bible, they won't be near-misses. Revelation chapter 8 speaks of two objects, a great mountain and a great star that will strike the earth and cause death and destruction. Could the near misses of this past year simply be a wake up call? Don't put your hope in man. Put your hope in the living God so that you can benefit from His protection when the troubled times come.
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