• Question: Did the small asteroid you studied cause any damage to Earth?

    Asked by g30rg1n4 to Alan on 12 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Alan Fitzsimmons

      Alan Fitzsimmons answered on 12 Mar 2014:


      Nope, it was far too small. Most asteroids smaller than 50 metres across normally burn up or explode in our atmosphere before reaching the ground. The asteroid we studied (called 2008TC3) was only 2 to 4 metres across, and exploded high up in the atmosphere. We got pictures of the explosion from satellites, and some pilots saw it from their cockpit hundreds of miles away.

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