Earth got a close shave Monday morning from an asteroid so small it was   
   originally mistaken for space junk.   
       
   The object, called 2011 MD, zipped 7,600 miles above Earth's surface at about   
   1:15 p.m. EDT on June 27. It was discovered on June 22 by the LINEAR project,   
   which hunts for objects that pass close to Earth using robotic telescopes in   
   New Mexico.   
       
   2011 MD is between 16 and 65 feet wide and is in a very Earthlike orbit around   
   the sun, which made astronomers wonder if it was a stray rocket booster left   
   over from a previous space mission. But running the object's orbit backwards   
   showed that the asteroid never came close enough to Earth during the space age   
   to have started life as a rocket booster.   
   [...]   
   The animation above was taken with the Faulkes Telescope South's 2-meter   
   telescope. Each image is a 20-second exposure. The image below is a single   
   20-second exposure taken with a red-green-blue filter.   
       
   Although 2011 MD was a close encounter, it was not a record breaker. The   
   record still lies with 2011 CQ1, which on Feb. 4 came within 7,366 miles of   
   Earth.   
       
   Asteroids of this size pass close by Earth every six years or so, and there's   
   a small chance one could hit Earth. But don't worry: According to NASA,   
   they'll disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.62   
    * Origin: NCS BBS (1:3828/7)