Gone but not forgotten

Source: NASA

It's not everyday that an asteroid half the size of a football field comes really close to the Earth (can I get a 'thank god for that'!) and if you're like me, the moment you heard about it, you went over to the NASA website to get more information. Space has always amazed me, and this month seems to be all about it. First there was the meteor in Russia, that caused quite the air blast. And then there was this.

To talk a little more about the asteroid, it was about 40 m wide at it's longest axis and passed by the Earth last Friday, coming closer than many communication satellites (at it's closest point it was about 17, 200 miles from the Earth) . These images were taken when it was heading away from the Earth. The images were taken over a course of eight hours, and show the asteroid's rotation as it flew by. If it seems more like pixel art to you, consider this, the images are at a resolution of 13 feet per pixel.

Here's what's exciting me most about this entire event. The 15 m long meteor exploded over Russian skies just a few hours before the asteroid flyby. It had a different trajectory, and the two events were totally unrelated! It's as if the meteor was a way to get our attention to the skies and beyond. It's a shame that it ended up doing a fair share of damage too.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; the universe is awesome. The things to research and learn about this topic are endless, and I for one, will always find it intriguing.