Two asteroids to fly past Earth

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At closest approach, 2010 RF12 asteroid will be 77,000 kilometers (0.2 lunar distance) away and 2010 RX30 asteroid will be even farther at 231,000 kilometers (0.6 lunar distance).

A newly discovered asteroid is given a provisional designation (such as 2010 RF12) consisting of the year of discovery and an alphanumeric code indicating the half-month of discovery and the sequence within that half-month.

Advanced amateur astronomers may be able to track the asteroids using these ephemerides. The fast-moving space rocks will shine like stars of 15th or 16th magnitude on September 8.

Many scientists believe that a near-Earth asteroid collided with Earth about 65 million years ago, triggering widespread environmental changes that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. The asteroid created a huge circular depression called the Chicxulub (CHEEK shoo loob) along the northern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Recently, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope found a colorful mixed bunch of asteroids with a surprisingly wide array of compositions, similar to an assorted box of candies.

Researchers have analyzed preliminary data on 100 near-Earth asteroids so far and plan to observe 600 more over the next year. There are roughly 7,000 known near-Earth objects out of a population expected to number in the tens to hundreds of thousands.

The research data show that some of the smaller objects have surprisingly high albedos (an albedo is a measurement of how much sunlight an object reflects). Since asteroid surfaces become darker with time due to exposure to solar radiation, the presence of lighter, brighter surfaces for some asteroids may indicate that they are relatively young. This is evidence for the continuing evolution of the near-Earth object population.

Additionally, Canadian and American astronauts say the world needs to prepare for the asteroid impact that could one day devastate the Earth. The United Nations is currently studying a report prepared by Association of Space Explorers, which outlines plans to detect and deflect any objects in space that might threaten the planet.

“The basic technology to do this already exists. But the effort to steer an asteroid clear of the Earth would have to begin at least 10 years before the expected impact. One scenario involves smashing a spacecraft into the asteroid to knock it off its collision course,” Former U.S. astronaut Rusty Schweickart told Canadian Press.

The Canadian Space Agency plans to launch NEOSSat, which will circle about 700 kilometers above Earth, next March to look for asteroids that may be hiding near the sun in the search for potential threats from space.