Asteroid Discovered Speeding 32,000 mph

European Space Agency Asteroid Find

Source: NASA-ESA Asteroid Image

Space Rock in Earth-Crossing Orbit

The European Space Agency (ESA)

has discovered a huge asteroid

moving at warp speed.  32,000

miles per hour to be exact.

The asteroid is a big one with a

diameter of 262 feet.  That's about 

the size of a commercial aircraft

wing tip to wing tip.  ESA has

named the space rock 2020 Ft3

and they've added it to their Risk List

of asteroids that could hit Earth.

2089 - 2110 Timeframe

2020 Ft3 follows an Earth-crossing

orbit, making it a member of the

Apollo family of asteroids.  The

space rock is world's away from

Earth.  ESA believes the chances

of it striking the Earth are very 

small.  And, they and NASA have

calculated, if by some slight

chance it were to hit, it would 

not happen before 2089.  They 

add, the remote possibility of a strike

would be between 2089 and

2110. 

Asteroid Defense System

NASA and the ESA are currently

working on an asteroid defense

strategy to use spacecraft to collide

with any threatening asteroids and 

bump them off  course, if headed toward 

Earth.

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