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  • 2015-12-23 (xsd:date)
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  • An Asteroid Will Not Cause Disaster on Christmas Eve (en)
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  • Santa Claus and his reindeer won't be the only objects flying through the sky this Christmas -- an asteroid will be hurtling through the solar system, as well. According to several sensationalized headlines that were published in December 2015, Asteroid 2003 SD220 will come dangerously close to earth on Christmas Eve. While it is true that Asteroid 2003 SD220 will pass by Earth on Christmas Eve, the above-quoted article gets several facts wrong. First, the asteroid will not be getting disconcertingly close to Earth. According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the closest that the asteroid will get is about 6.8 million miles: It's going miss Earth by a wide swath, and not be any hazard, JPL spokesperson Guy Webster told us. The asteroid also is not colossal. According to Space.com, the asteroid is relatively small at only about 1.24 miles wide. Asteroid 2003 SD220's flyby on Christmas Eve is basically a non-event for people outside of the astronomy field, as it is so small and distant that it will not even be visible to the naked eye. This is also not the first time that Asteroid 2003 SD220 has passed by Earth, and it will not be the last. According to NASA, it will make another flyby in 2018: JPL's Near Earth Object Office, which detects and tracks potentially hazardous asteroids and other space objects, is refuting and clarifying rumors on its verified Twitter account. (en)
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