A newly discovered asteroid, similar to the size of the meteor that exploded over Russia's Ural Mountains last month, passed Earth without causing an impact.
Asteroid 2013 EC was discovered by NASA Saturday. The Space Agency noted that the size of the asteroid was similar to the size of the meteor that exploded over Russia's Ural Mountains last month. The newly discovered asteroid made a close encounter with Earth Monday night without making an impact. The distance of the encounter was as much as the distance of the moon from the earth.
Asteroid 2013 EC is between 32- and 52-feet wide, which is the same size as the Russian meteor that injured nearly 1,000 people on February 15 this year. The meteor streaked across Russia's skies early in the morning and was captured on video by numerous car and security cameras. Injuries did not come from the meteor itself, but from shattering windows as a result of the shockwave the space rock created as it entered Earth's atmosphere and exploded overhead.
It is important for scientists to be able to predict a meteor like 2013 EC's orbit so that they can ensure the safety of both people on the ground and astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS). Scientists believe a meteor like the one that struck Russia last month could happen once every few decades, so being prepared for when the next large meteor strikes Earth could help save lives one day.
"That we are finding all these asteroids recently does not mean that we are being visited by more asteroids," Gianluca Masi from the Virtual Telescope Project said during a live webcast when the asteroid was about twice the distance of the moon. "Just that our ability to detect them has gotten so much better. Our technology has improved a lot over the past decades."
