A close shave but not Earth shattering

[WX]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64411469

Even if 2023 BU was on a direct collision course, it would struggle to do much damage.With an estimated size of 3.5m to 8.5m across (11.5ft to 28ft), the rock would likely disintegrate high in the atmosphere. It would though produce a spectacular fireball.


For comparison, the famous Chelyabinsk meteor that entered Earth's atmosphere over southern Russia in 2013 was an object near 20m (66ft) across. It produced a shockwave that shattered windows on the ground.



Scientists at the US space agency Nasa say 2023 BU's orbit around the Sun will be modified by its encounter with Earth.

[LeeG]

I’d like a spectacular fireball, no shockwave though.

[CWSmith]

I don't know the statistics, but it seems like we've had a lot of asteroids pass inside the lunar orbit this past year. Maybe we're just getting better at finding them.

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

The BBC was calling a miss by 2,000 miles - which sounds like a lot but it's only half the radius of the earth.

[CWSmith]

^ Enough atmosphere to burn it up, so that's close.