Asteroid 2008 TC3 will cross the Earth's orbit with a minimu distance of less than one Earth radius. Fortunately it is only a few metres across and so does not pose a threat. It is expected to burn up over Sudan.

Ephemeris data is here: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/mpec/K08/K08T50.html

Apparently this is the first time an impact has been predicted in advance.

Well, where's the fun in that? You mean I built my Doomday Rock Survival Bunker for nothing? But now you're telling me there's no collision?

The cable guy was gonna hook up the HD tomorrow.

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Few meters???

I wouldn't even call that an asteroid.

Just a good-sized meteorite....

Not yet

It's a meteoroid in space, a meteor in the atmosphere, and a meteorite once (if) it hits the ground.

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"For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky"

That's actually a good question hidden in this statement--if a meteor strikes an airplane (without fatally damaging it) and is now a part of the airplane, is it now a meteorite, or does it only become a meteorite upon the plane's landing, or does it become one when it is removed from the plane and dropped on the ground?

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Todd (Bowie, MD, US, North America, Earth, Sol System, Vega region, Local Bubble, Orion arm, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group, Virgo A Cluster, Virgo supercluster, the universe in which spock is clean shaven)

Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.

personal page: http://blog.astrosketches.info

That's like asking if Pluto is a planet or not. It depends on how you define a word.

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I would opine that since it is no longer burning up in the atmosphere, it has transitioned from meteor to meteorite.

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"For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky"

And if a person of South African English descent moves to the US and becomes a citizen, are they considered an African-American?

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In case you missed it, they found chunks of 2008 TC3.

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Chunks? It's only been here a few hours.. Party drugs I reckon..

What meteor are you thinking of?

Wikipedia 2008 TC3:

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dont worry ,we the israeli ,will make this to crash at iran....




icarus5

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I don't think that's funny. Why? (If it's politically inspired, don't bother explaining.)

And why future tense? The body in question arrived 2008 October. The reason the old topic was resurrected recently was that meteorites from the meteor might have been found, rounding out the story.

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I hope we see reasons to 1) pick titles that are less likely to be temporally misinterpreted by readers -- such as specifying a date rather than a relative time like "tonight", and 2) read for content.

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One Earth, One Sky - IYA 2009
All moderation in purple

No. Not this night.

A bird in the hand...

Universe Today: Meteorites Found in Africa From First Predicted Asteroid Hit

NASA coverage and pictures

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