By Mary Marsh
KFSM-TV, Channel 5 News
FAYETTEVILLE - The moon and stars weren't the only things lighting up the sky Tuesday night; an asteroid swung close enough to Earth to make some scientists take note. You may wonder why astronomers keep up with them, but they say the 2007 TU24 asteroid is flying by Earth at almost 70,000 miles per hour, making many people wonder if they should worry.
Scientists have been monitoring the orbit of the 2007 TU24 asteroid since last year. But astronomers say if an asteroid did hit the Earth, a year's notice would not be enough time to react. University of Arkansas astronomy professor Claud Lacy says the government would need years to prepare. "You have to find these things early, like 20 years to 50 years in advance, and then work on them to change the orbit enough to make a difference."
The TU24 asteroid is almost 2,000 feet across, big enough to be seen by amateur telescopes. But is this close enough to cause panic? UA Graduate student Dan Ostrowski says, no. "One that large most likely won't hit us any time soon." And UA Planetarium Student Chair Adam Hughes, agrees. "You could probably go out and win the lottery two times in a row before something's going to come and destroy the Earth."
Scientists say there's no danger of an Earth impact this time, but astronomers are already thinking of ways to stop an asteroid from making a massive collision, in the future. Lacy says the ideas are ready to roll, but no government official has taken steps to implement them yet. "Nuclear warheads have been suggested; one that I like is called the Gravity Tug, where you put a 20-ton space craft, and fire little rocket motors, and slowly pull it off course."
And astronomers like Lacy insist it's only a matter of time, before one does hit the Earth. "It's not a question of if; it's a question of when. Probably not before 50 or 100 million years have passed, but it could be tomorrow! You never know! So, watch out!"
But no matter when an asteroid hits, astronomers agree it reminds us of the bigger picture. Scott Barrows says it helps us remember we aren't in a little bubble, but there are vast solar systems, spinning around us. He says, "it helps keep us aware of the fact that they're out there."
Astronomers say about two thousand meteors, or the inside parts of an asteroid after it breaks apart, hit earth as meteorites every year, people just don't realize it.
The 2007 TU24 asteroid will be the biggest to come so close to Earth, until 2027. At its closest, 2007 TU24 was about 1.5 times the distance of Earth to the moon.
