Mystery Object Hurtling Towards Earth TODAY!

Photo: E. Guido and G. Sostero / AFAM / CARA via MSNBC

Scientists have identified and object that will pass the Earth (but won't hit it) sometime today. In a somewhat disconcerting twist, they don't know what it is. It's going to fwoosh by, missing us by only 80k miles (that's a third of the distance from here to the moon just FYI). Calm yourselves people! We can get through this. See, it's only  about 10 meters wide, which turns out to be a good thing because (from MSNBC):

.....the "asteroid," or whatever it is, gives us a new standard: A 10-meter-wide (33-foot-wide) asteroid can be detected two days before it potentially hits Earth.

That's supposed to be COMFORTING? 

What makes this near-Earth object, or NEO, special is that it has an orbital period of almost exactly one year. This fact has led some scientists to speculate that 2010 AL30 could be an artificial object and not an asteroid.

So it's space junk? But couldn't it still cause some damage?

It is worth noting that even if 2010 AL30 did hit Earth, it would most likely explode high in the atmosphere (with the energy of a small nuclear bomb), posing little danger to anyone on the ground. Impacts of this size happen every year.

Well that makes me feel better! Unless it's artificial and not made by humans.....

Read more about about this impending doom from above interesting space anomaly.

UPDATE: Wired posted an update (it is an asteroid) and some new images, including an animation of the fly by.

Mason-Dixon Meteorite Tracked on Video

Looks like I'm a few days behind on this--the Mason-Dixon Meteorite was tracked on a surveillance camera! The Baltimore Sun has more:

The big fireball meteor that startled residents in Central Maryland and southern Pennsylvania early Monday morning was captured on a security camera video in York Pa. It's about 18 seconds into the 70-second video. Meteorite hunters hope this will be a first clue to guide them to the spot where surviving bits of the meteor - if there are any - may have landed.

Video isn't super great quality, but definitely worth checking out.

And it looks like a local astronomy buff has created a simulation (click the pick for the video):
Read more about the hunt for the meteorite and the latest details so far...

Props to www.mikesastrophotos.com and the Baltimore Sun.

Mason-Dixon Meteorite Blasts Through Sky, Crashes to Earth

The Baltimore Sun reports on a meteor dubbed the Mason-Dixon Meteor that apparently crashed to Earth near Lancaster County, July 6. An excerpt of some of the reports:

The York Dispatch: In York County, Pa., police officers from Penn Township, Southwestern Regional and Newberry Township reported seeing a flash and hearing a boom around 1:15 a.m. Monday, July 6, according to local 911 centers. Officials in Harford County, Md. also reported seeing a flash and hearing a boom near the Mason-Dixon Line.

Capital Gazette: An Annapolis city police officer reported that she and her partner both saw what she described as a "bright blue light in the sky" just after midnight. It was followed by "a light with a tail, falling from the sky," according to our informant. Annapolis police reported hearing a similar report on Baltimore County police radio.

Gary Moon, reporting to The Sun's News Tips: "I heard and felt a deep earth blast similar to an earthquake, which shook my home in Glen Rock, Pa., early Monday morning. I thought I would hear MUCH more about this one ... nothing."

Deborah Markow, Havre de Grace: "Last night, couldn't sleep, went out on back deck, laid on lounge, eyes closed and then it was like someone pointed a flash light in my eyes it was so bright. I saw another one streak through the sky ... It was one of the most thrilling sights to behold a ball of fire flying through the sky."

Read more...