"How close a huge asteroid just came to Earth"

"NASA scientists are saying that an asteroid that appears to be about a third of a mile in size will safely pass about three times the distance of Earth to the moon on Monday."

How close is that? 

 

Said Yeomans: "While it poses no threat to Earth for the foreseeable future, it's a relatively close approach by a relatively large asteroid, so it provides us a unique opportunity to observe and learn more."

In other words, specifically the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's: "Don't panic."

KLEM FM

The song isn't associated with any particular Who album because it belonged to an aborted effort called "Lifehouse," as did the bulk of that band's "Who's Next."

I am intrigued with aborted efforts...take for example the Asteroid Belt which in a sense represents an aborted planet -- matter which failed to accrete into a planet. It was once thought to be a shattered or destroyed planet, but that theory has been discredited.

By the way there is a fascinating story behind the discovery of Ceres, the largest asteroid. It was sought and found because another discredited theory (Bode's Law) predicted its existence.

Song lyrics after the jump