News - National
Telescope alert! Asteroids to make close swipe of earth
Posted: Sep 7, 2010 2:09 PM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: Sep 7, 2010 2:30 PM
If you enjoy keeping an eye on the night sky, here's one you won't want to miss--two asteroids are about to pass by earth closer than the moon.
The newly discovered asteroids were spotted by astronomers at Mount Lemmon Survey in Tucson, Arizona. They'll pass earth Wednesday within eleven hours of one another.
While close, the asteroids will be above the path of communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit. In other words--your cell phones, GPS's and NewsFirst5's TV signal will all still be working on Thursday.
The first asteroid will pass earth at 3:51 am, followed by the second at 3:18 pm (MDT).
The Jet Propulsion Lab at the California Institute of Technology has a sky map for amateur astronomers who hope to see the asteroids.
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