It sounds like a movie or two we’ve already seen, but this isn’t science fiction. David Morrison, a senior NASA scientist, spoke with Science Friday about preparations for potential impact a recent push for an international effort to act as a planetary response team for potential space threats.
One of the more popular parts of today’s discussion was Friday the 13th, 2029, a date when asteroid 2004 MN4 will NOT hit Earth, but will come close. How close? according to these calculations, about 4,000 miles UNDER geosynchronous orbit. That’s close enough to be seen with the naked eye. Scientists aren’t sure when it will come around again, but having an object pass that close is a great chance for the proposed planetary response team to study the effects of such an encounter.
Dr. Tony Phillips has more on this story here.
Read an interview with Dr. Morrison at Space.com.
