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Friday the Thirteenth… 2029.
By Miss Cellania in Everything Else on Apr 13, 2007 at 7:40 am
Today is Friday the 13th! This is considered to be the unluckiest day on the calendar. You’ll find more on Friday the 13th here.
But NASA says that 22 years from now, on Friday, April 13th 2029, we will all feel lucky as we watch asteroid 2004 MN4 … not hitting Earth.
On April 13, 2029, asteroid 2004 MN4 will fly past Earth only 18,600 miles (30,000 km) above the ground. For comparison, geosynchronous satellites orbit at 22,300 miles (36,000 km). “At closest approach, the asteroid will shine like a 3rd magnitude star, visible to the unaided eye from Africa, Europe and Asia–even through city lights,” says Jon Giorgini of JPL. This is rare. “Close approaches by objects as large as 2004 MN4 are currently thought to occur at 1000-year intervals, on average.”
