At 1344 hrs GMT today, 2 March 2009, a small asteroid called DD45 missed the Earth by just 40,000 miles. It had been discovered just last Friday, 27 February 2009.
Asteroid defense researchers have long assumed that menacing asteroids would be detected years ahead, giving plenty of time to take defensive action. This incident shows that such may not always be the case.
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March 2, 2009 at 8:45 pm