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Italians Discover Asteroid
posted: 04:04 pm ET
07 February 2000
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close_call_000207Researchers in Italy announced on Feb. 7 the discovery of an asteroid that has an extremely small chance of hitting Earth in the year 2022. The asteroid, called 2000 BF19, was discovered by a group of researchers in Italy who have called upon scientists to make additional observations to further pin down the course of the space rock. The asteroid is the fifth one discovered over the past two years with a potential to hit Earth. The miniscule odds of impact have been put at 1 in a million, but the chances will likely change as more data is gathered, researchers said. The odds could go up or down. The most likely scenario, repeated with other recently found potential impactors, is that better data will yield a more certain trajectory, and 2000 BF19 will be found to be no danger at all. But international researchers who monitor potentially hazardous Near Earth Objects, or NEOs as they're called, have settled into an early warning system that publicizes such findings, in part so that other researchers will study the object. Often, quick action is important because the asteroids' orbits take them into deeper space, where they hide until their next trip around the sun. "This should not be rated as a serious concern," said Andrea Milani, who led the group that found 2000 BF19. "Nevertheless, shame on the astronomical community if we lose this dangerous fellow, which is unfortunately quite dim and fading."
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