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Do Comets Become Asteroids?

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Killer Comets and Ominous Asteroids

The Asteroid Paradox
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Comet/Asteroid Investigation
Jet Propulsion Laboratory efforts
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Large Impact Simulation
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Impact Calculator

Animation of a planetary collision in the HD-172555 system 100 light-years from Earth, data for which were discovered in 2009 by the Spitzer Space Telescope.

What are meteors and meteorites?

What is a meteoroid?

What is a bolide?

What is a megaton TNT?

Meteorite Impacts

Frequently Asked Questions

Earth's atmosphere

The Threat to Earth
from Asteroids and Comets

Sizing Up the Asteroid Threat

Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazards

Earth Impact by an Asteroid

Megatsunami, also known as Iminami,
caused by impact

The Torino Scale (revised 2005)

Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA)

Near-Earth Object (NEO) Threat

NEO Information Centre

Asteroid information from SEDS

Asteroids or Volcanoes?

Noah's Flood?

Did a Comet Cause the Great Flood?
10 May 2807BC

Bible Predictions

Gamma-Ray Burst?

National Geographic:
Asteroids and Comets

interactive web site:
Earth Impact Effects

Dinosaurs Died Within Hours

Chicxulub impact crater

Permian Extinction
Evidence for a Large Impact

Proposed Companion Star to the Sun
Cause of Mass Extinctions on Earth?

Tagish Lake Meteor/Fireball:
UWO site — NASA site

Tunguska Event

South American impacts
Rio Curaca, Brasil (1930)
Rupununi, Guyana (1935)

Meteor Crater, Arizona

Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater

Terrestrial Impact Craters

Crater Chains

Earth Impact Database

Meteor Crater Map
fifty of Earth's most obvious
meteor impact craters

more than 160 impacts
identified since 1960

Types of Asteroids:
Apohele — Apollo
Amor — Aten
Centaur — Cubewano
Damocloid — Hilda
Plutino — Trojan
Vulcanoid

What is the Yarkovsky Effect?

What is the YORP Effect?

Main-Belt Asteroids (MBA)
between Mars and Jupiter

Discovery of MBA

Kuiper Belt: comets & asteroids

Oort Cloud of comets

Comet images from the
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
(SOHO) spacecraft.

Small Comets Bring Water to Earth
Frank-Sigwarth Theory

Asteroid images from NASA

Survive a Collision with an Asteroid

What To Do Before the Asteroid Strikes

Current Impact Risk
combined total impact probability
for all listed objects over the next
hundred years: one in 13

Dealing with the Impact Hazard

Keeping an Eye on Space Rocks

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)

NASA/JPL Asteroid Watch

Comet/Asteroid Archive

Recommended Reading and
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• December 2011
The 89-meter asteroid 2011 XC2 was discovered on 8 December by LINEAR five days after it had passed within 217,000 miles (349,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 200,000 with an impact energy of 63 megatons TNT.

The 1.2-kilometer asteroid 2011 XZ1 was discovered on 6 December by Pan-STARRS. Eventual impact probability is about one in 100 million with an impact energy of 65,000 megatons TNT.

The 360-meter asteroid 2011 XM1 was discovered on 4 December by Pan-STARRS. Eventual impact probability is about one in 23 million with an impact energy of 2200 megatons TNT.

• November 2011
There is much excitement in the news about the 400-meter asteroid 2005 YU55 passing within 203,000 miles (327,000 km) of Earth on 8 November. However, this asteroid is not currently listed as a collision risk over the next hundred years.

The 120-meter asteroid 2011 VG9 was discovered on 15 November by the Mount Lemmon Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 320,000 with an impact energy of 210 megatons TNT.

• October 2011
The 75-meter asteroid 2011 UZ255 was discovered on 30 October by Spacewatch. Eventual impact probability is about one in 37,000 with an impact energy of 21 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 UX255 was discovered on 30 October by the Mount Lemmon Survey two days after it has passed within 86,000 miles (140,000 km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2011 UL169 was discovered on 27 October by the Catalina Sky Survey one day after it had passed within 165,000 miles (265,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 83,000 with an impact energy of 14,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 UT was discovered on 17 October by Spacewatch five days before it passed within 141,000 miles (227,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 213,000 with an impact energy of 550,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 TO was discovered on 1 October by LINEAR three days after it had passed within 80,000 miles (129,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 77,000 with an impact energy of 210,000 tons TNT.

• September 2011
Analysis of data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has led researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to revise downward their estimate of the number of mid-size (100-to-1000 meters) near-Earth asteroids to 19500, of which 5200 have been found and are being tracked. — full story

The small asteroid 2011 SO189 was discovered on 29 September by the Mount Lemmon Survey five days after it had passed 287,000 miles (463,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 9100 with an impact energy of 240,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 SM173 was discovered on 29 September by the Catalina Sky Survey one day before it passed within 181,000 miles (291,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 14,000 with an impact energy of 43,000 tons TNT.

The 420-meter asteroid 2011 SD173 was discovered on 24 September by the Mount Lemmon Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 590,000 with an impact energy of 3600 megatons TNT.

The 260-meter asteroid 2011 SR5 was discovered on 19 September by the Catalina Sky Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 270 million with an impact energy of 1300 megatons TNT.

• August 2011
The 84-meter asteroid 2011 PE2 was discovered on 8 August by La Sagra Observatory nine days after it had passed within 833,000 miles (1.34 million km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2011 PU1 was discovered on 6 August by La Sagra Observatory thirteen days after it had passed 208,000 miles (336,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 5300 with an impact energy of 850,000 tons TNT.

• June 2011
The small asteroid 2011 MX was discovered on 23 June by the Mount Lemmon Survey three days after it had passed within 596,000 miles (960,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 33,000 with an impact energy of 130,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 MD was discovered on 22 June by LINEAR five days before it passed within 12,000 miles (18,700 km) of Earth.

The 140-meter asteroid 2011 LT17 was discovered on 9 June by the Catalina Sky Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 380,000 with an impact energy of 150 megatons TNT.

• March 2011
The small asteroid 2011 FQ6 was discovered on 27 March by the Mount Lemmon Survey four days after it had passed within 367,000 miles (591,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 53,000 with an impact energy of 34,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 EB74 was discovered on 15 March by the Catalina Sky Survey one day before it passed 203,000 miles (327,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 3600 with an impact energy of 85,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 EY11 was discovered on 5 March by the Catalina Sky Survey two days before it passed 81,300 miles (131,000 km) from Earth.

The small asteroid 2011 ES4 was discovered on 2 March by the Mount Lemmon Survey eleven days before it passed within 2.7 million miles (4.3 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 26,000 with an impact energy of 460,000 tons TNT.

• February 2011
The small asteroid 2011 DU9 was discovered on 27 February by La Sagra Observatory four days after it had passed within 179,000 miles (288,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 4800 with an impact energy of 120,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 CF66 was discovered on 13 February by the Mount Lemmon Survey seven days before it passed within 610,000 miles (982,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 71,000 with an impact energy of 45,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 CU46 was discovered on 11 February by LINEAR three days after it had passed within 1.1 million miles (1.7 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 45,000 with an impact energy of 1.3 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 CA7 was discovered on 7 February by the Mount Lemmon Survey two days before it passed within 64,000 miles (104,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 2.8 million with an impact energy of 820 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 CQ1 was discovered on 4 February by the Catalina Sky Survey fourteen hours before it passed within 7,300 miles (11,800 km) of Earth.

• January 2011
The 180-meter asteroid 2011 BT59 was discovered on 30 January by Pan-STARRS. Eventual impact probability is about one in 4.2 million with an impact energy of 1600 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 BL45 was discovered on 30 January by Pan-STARRS. Eventual impact probability is about one in 2100 with an impact energy of 40,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 BP40 was discovered on 30 January by Pan-STARRS. Eventual impact probability is about one in five million with an impact energy of 480,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 BW11 was discovered on 26 January by the Catalina Sky Survey one day after it had passed within 80,000 miles (129,000 km) of Earth.

The 150-meter asteroid 2011 BT15 was discovered on 24 January by Pan-STARRS. Eventual impact probability is about one in 13,000 with an impact energy of 100 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 BG10 was discovered on 23 January by the Mount Lemmon Survey nine days before it passed within 2.5 million miles (4.1 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 120,000 with an impact energy of 280,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 AM37 was discovered on 13 January by the Catalina Sky Survey two days after it had passed within 80,000 miles (129,000 km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2011 AX22 was discovered on 10 January by the Catalina Sky Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 2000 with an impact energy of 2.2 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 AH5 was discovered on 8 January by the Catalina Sky Survey five days before it passed within 799,000 miles (1.3 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 40,000 with an impact energy of 370,000 tons TNT.

The 140-meter asteroid 2011 AG5 was discovered on 8 January by the Mount Lemmon Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 625 with an impact energy of 100 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2011 AD3 was discovered on 4 January by the Mount Lemmon Survey six days after it had passed 2.2 million miles (3.6 million km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 8.3 million with an impact energy of 220,000 tons TNT.

87 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered in 2010
Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA) are defined as those with orbits within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth's orbit. Eighty-seven more PHA were discovered in 2010, bringing the total to 1177 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, more than three times those known in 2001. — full list

• December 2010
The 570-meter asteroid 2010 XA73 was discovered on 15 December by Pan-STARRS. Eventual impact probability is about one in 900 million with an impact energy of 11,000 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 XN69 was discovered on 15 December by the Mount Lemmon Survey ten days before it passed one million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 16,000 with an impact energy of 200,000 tons TNT.

The 110-meter asteroid 2010 XB73 was discovered on 14 December by the Mount Lemmon Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 4.8 million with an impact energy of 32 megatons TNT.

The 150-meter asteroid 2010 XA68 was discovered on 14 December by the Mount Lemmon Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 2.6 million with an impact energy of 670 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 XW58 was discovered on 11 December by the Mount Lemmon Survey long before its next close approach to Earth in AD2124. Eventual impact probability is about one in 300,000 with an impact energy of 1.6 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 XR was discovered on 2 December by the Mount Lemmon Survey three days after it had passed within 116,000 miles (187,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in five million with an impact energy of 290,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 XB was discovered on 1 December by the Mount Lemmon Survey one day after it had passed within 32,000 miles (51,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 5.6 million with an impact energy of 5700 tons TNT.

• November 2010
The 89-meter asteroid 2010 WD3 was discovered on 28 November by the Mount Lemmon Survey nine days before it passed within 549,000 miles (885,000 km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2010 VN1 was discovered on 3 November by La Sagra Observatory one day after it had passed within 80,000 miles (129,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 590,000 with an impact energy of 16,000 tons TNT.

• October 2010
The small asteroid 2010 UY7 was discovered on 30 October by the Catalina Sky Survey four days after it had passed within 151,000 miles (243,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 4000 with an impact energy of 6,700 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 UE was discovered on 17 October by the Mount Lemmon Survey one day after it had passed within 71,000 miles (114,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 15 million with an impact energy of 4200 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 TW54 was discovered on 11 October by the Mount Lemmon Survey two days after it had passed within 100,000 miles (161,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 170,000 with an impact energy of 34,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 TD54 was discovered on 9 October by the Catalina Sky Survey three days before it passed within 32,000 miles (52,000 km) of Earth.

• September 2010
Analysis of data from Mars Express and Mars Global Surveyor support the conclusion that the Martian satellite Phobos was formed by accretion of material blasted into orbit by impact. — full story

A fireball over New Mexico and Texas on 21 September was recorded by Thomas Ashcraft on video near Santa Fe. — full story

The small asteroid 2010 RK53 was discovered on 10 September by the Catalina Sky Survey two days after it had passed within 45,000 miles (73,000 km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2010 RX30 was discovered on 5 September by the Mount Lemmon Survey three days before it passed 154,000 miles (248,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 145,000 with an impact energy of 69,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 RF12 was discovered on 5 September by the Mount Lemmon Survey three days before it passed 49,000 miles (79,000 km) from Earth. Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero at Remanzacco Observatory obtained images animated here of the asteroid as it passed. Eventual impact probability is about one in 83 with an impact energy of 9,900 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 RZ11 was discovered on 3 September by the Mount Lemmon Survey seven days after it had passed 574,000 miles (924,000 km) from Earth.

• August 2010
The small asteroid 2010 QG2 was discovered on 31 August by LINEAR three days before it passed within 1.1 million miles (1.75 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 28,000 with an impact energy of 5.7 megatons TNT.

• July 2010
Research published in the journal "Astronomy & Astrophysics" of data from the Herschel spacecraft indicates a cometary impact on the planet Neptune about 200 years ago. — full story

The small asteroid 2010 NN was discovered on 6 July by the Mount Lemmon Survey three days after it had passed 326,000 miles (525,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 37,000 with an impact energy of 11,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 NH was discovered on 4 July by the Mount Lemmon Survey four days after it had passed 624,000 miles (1 million km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 590,000 with an impact energy of 630,000 tons TNT.

• June 2010
The small asteroid 2010 MZ112 was discovered on 23 June by WISE. Eventual impact probability is about one in 500,000 with an impact energy of 1.5 megatons TNT.

The 250-meter asteroid 2010 MY112 was discovered on 23 June by WISE. Eventual impact probability is about one in 31 million with an impact energy of 1,700 megatons TNT.

A large fireball was observed on Jupiter on 3 June by Anthony Wesley, who first observed the 2009 impact. — full story

• May 2010
The small asteroid 2010 JH80 was discovered on 13 May by the Mount Lemmon Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 476,000 with an impact energy of 1 megaton TNT.

• April 2010
The 75-meter asteroid 2010 HS20 was discovered on 20 April by the Mount Lemmon Survey fifteen days before it passed within 7.2 million miles (11.5 million km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2010 HP20 was discovered on 20 April by the Mount Lemmon Survey two days after it had passed within 149,000 miles (239,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 20,000 with an impact energy of 13,000 tons TNT.

A brilliant fireball was seen over the Midwest on 14 April by thousands of residents from Missouri to Wisconsin. — full story — video — video

The small asteroid 2010 GM23 was discovered on 8 April by the Catalina Sky Survey five days before it passed within 820,000 miles (1.3 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 77,000 with an impact energy of 3.1 megatons TNT.

• February 2010
The small asteroid 2010 DG77 was discovered on 19 February by WISE four weeks after it had passed 3.6 million miles (5.8 million km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 710,000 with an impact energy of 3.9 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 CS19 was discovered on 15 February by the Catalina Sky Survey two days after it had passed 446,000 miles (718,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 27,000 with an impact energy of 16,000 tons TNT.

The 370-meter asteroid 2010 CR5 was discovered on 9 February by the Mount Lemmon Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 37 million with an impact energy of 5,100 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 CA was discovered on 5 February by the Catalina Sky Survey eight days before it passed within 3.7 million miles (6 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 210,000 with an impact energy of 4.2 megatons TNT.

• January 2010
The small asteroid 2010 BU2 was discovered on 21 January by LINEAR six days before it passed within 1.6 million miles (2.5 million km) from Earth.

The 890-meter asteroid 2010 AU118 was discovered on 13 January by WISE. Eventual impact probability is about one in 59 million with an impact energy of 88,000 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2010 AF40 was discovered on 12 January by the Mount Lemmon Survey nine days before it passed within 555,000 miles (893,000 km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2010 AL30 was discovered on 10 January by LINEAR three days before it passed 80,000 miles (129,000 km) from Earth. Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero at Remanzacco Observatory obtained images animated here of the asteroid as it passed.

The 1100-meter asteroid 2010 AR85 was discovered on 7 January by WISE. Eventual impact probability is about one in 53 million with an impact energy of 260,000 megatons TNT.

The unusual main-belt Comet P/2010 A2 was discovered on 6 January by LINEAR. — full story

79 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered in 2009
Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA) are defined as those with orbits within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth's orbit. Seventy-nine more PHA were discovered in 2009, bringing the total to 1090 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, nearly double those known in 2003. — full list

• December 2009
The small asteroid 2009 YS was discovered on 19 December by the Catalina Sky Survey seven days after it had passed within 350,000 miles (562,000 km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2009 YR was discovered on 19 December by the Mount Lemmon Survey six days before it passed 1 million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 100,000 with an impact energy of 13,000 tons TNT.

• November 2009
The small asteroid 2009 WR52 was discovered on 23 November by the Mount Lemmon Survey six days after it had passed 800,000 miles (1.3 million km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 7,700 with an impact energy of 9,800 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 WQ52 was discovered on 23 November by the Mount Lemmon Survey four days before it passed within 790,000 miles (1.3 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 2.7 million with an impact energy of 26,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 WV51 was discovered on 23 November by the Catalina Sky Survey one day before it passed within 93,600 miles (150,000 km) of Earth.

The 55-meter asteroid 2009 WQ25 was discovered on 21 November by the Mount Lemmon Survey thirteen days after it had passed 2.75 million miles (4.43 million km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 13 million with an impact energy of 11 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 WW7 was discovered on 19 November by the Mount Lemmon Survey two days before it passed within 418,000 miles (673,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 43,000 with an impact energy of 5,500 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 WJ6 was discovered on 19 November by the Catalina Sky Survey one day before it passed 110,000 miles (177,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 24 million with an impact energy of 75,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 WP6 was discovered on 18 November by the Mount Lemmon Survey three days before it passed within 164,000 miles (263,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 29,000 with an impact energy of 410,000 tons TNT.

The 280-meter asteroid 2009 WM1 was discovered on 17 November by the Catalina Sky Survey. Eventual impact probability is about one in 11 million with an impact energy of 1,100 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 VT1 was discovered on 10 November by the Mount Lemmon Survey one day after it had passed within 334,000 miles (538,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 435,000 with an impact energy of 2,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 VX was discovered on 9 November by the Catalina Sky Survey three days before it passed within 612,000 miles (985,000 km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2009 VA was discovered on 6 November by the Catalina Sky Survey at which time it was 12,600 miles (20,400 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 30,000 with an impact energy of 8,300 tons TNT.

• October 2009
The small asteroid 2009 TM8 was discovered on 15 October by the Catalina Sky Survey two days before it passed 215,000 miles (347,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 15,000 with an impact energy of 8,500 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 TH8 was discovered on 14 October by the Siding Spring Survey five days before it passed within 1.1 million miles (1.7 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 110,000 with an impact energy of 2.2 megatons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 TU was discovered on 10 October by the Catalina Sky Survey two days after it had passed 189,000 miles (305,000 km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 45,000 with an impact energy of 86,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 TD17 was discovered on 9 October by the Catalina Sky Survey four days after it had passed within 161,000 miles (260,000 km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 11,000 with an impact energy of 26,000 tons TNT.

The small asteroid 2009 TB was discovered on 2 October by the Mount Lemmon Survey two days after it had passed within 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of Earth.

• September 2009
The small asteroid 2009 SN103 was discovered on 25 September by the Catalina Sky Survey three days before it passed within 289,000 miles (465,000 km) of Earth.

The 110-meter asteroid 2009 SM98 was discovered on 24 September by the Catalina Sky Survey twelve days after it had passed within 2.2 million miles (3.5 million km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2009 SD15 was discovered on 19 September by the Mount Lemmon Survey six days after it had passed within 1.7 million miles (2.7 million km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2009 SH1 was discovered on 18 September by the Mount Lemmon Survey four days after it had passed within 544,000 miles (875,000 km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2009 RY3 was discovered on 13 September by the Siding Spring Survey two days after it had passed within 457,000 miles (735,000 km) of Earth.

The small asteroid 2009 RR was discovered on 11 September by the Catalina Sky Survey five days before it passed within 687,000 miles (1.1 million km) of Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 132,000 with an impact energy of 850,000 tons TNT.

• August 2009
The small asteroid 2009 QC35 was discovered on 29 August by the Catalina Sky Survey four days before it passed within 700,000 miles (1.1 million km) of Earth.

• July 2009
The small asteroid 2009 OW6 was discovered on 27 July by the Catalina Sky Survey one day before it passed 1.7 million miles (2.8 million km) from Earth. Eventual impact probability is about one in 110,000 with an impact energy of 690,000 tons TNT.

A large object believed to be a comet impacted Jupiter on 20 July. — full story — Hubble image

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Answering the question, "How much warning will we have?", David Morrison (NASA) wrote in September 1998: "With so many of even the larger NEOs remaining undiscovered, the most likely warning today would be zero — the first indication of a collision would be the flash of light and the shaking of the ground as it hit."

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