Asteroid 2002 MN flew past Earth on June 14, 2002. It passed only 75,000 miles from our planet.

There
was no warning that 2002 MN was coming. Scientist did not see the asteroid until three days after it
passed.

Asteroid are not stars, however they are actually pieces of rock. Most asteroid are found between the
orbits of Jupiter and mars, but some, called near earth asteroids (NEAS). Of the eight hundred known as
NEAS, about six hundred are not dangerous.

When the asteroid hit the earth, It light. Temperaturers fell, plants died. Scientist also believe that an
asteroid the Town of Tungusaka in Siberia in 1908. It knocked down over 2,000 square kilometers of
forest.

A Tungusaka-sze asteroid can destroy an area the sze of a city. A tungusaka size asteroid hit the eart
every 100 to 1000 years. Asteroid that cause global damage strike the earth only about every 100,000
years.

University and amateur astronomers also watch out for dangerous asteroid. There are problems. The
frst, most asteroid are small and dark. Second ,if asteroid is comng from the directon of the sun, t
canoot be seen because the sun is too bright. Finally, there is no large-scale program in southern
hemisphere to try to find asteroids.

In the movie Armageddon (1998), astronots use a nuclear bomb to blow up the asteroid. The explosion
might create many smaller asteroids heading for the earth. Instead of usng a bomb, as tronauts could
use rocket engines to push the asteroid out of earth’s path.