Astronomers Catch a Shooting Star for 1st Time.

[elleng]

'For the first time scientists matched a meteorite found on Earth with a specific asteroid that became a fireball plunging through the sky. It gives them a glimpse into the past when planets formed and an idea how to avoid a future asteroid Armageddon.

Last October, astronomers tracked a small non-threatening asteroid heading toward Earth before it became a ''shooting star,'' something they had not done before. It blew up in the sky and scientists thought there would be no space rocks left to examine.

But a painstaking search by dozens of students through the remote Sudan desert came up with 8.7 pounds of black jagged rocks, leftovers from the asteroid 2008 TC3. And those dark rocks were full of surprises and minuscule diamonds, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature.'

http://nytimes.com/aponline/2009/03/26/science/AP-SCI-Asteroid-Match.html

[Soylent Brice]

1. that's awesome!!

this statement is kind of dumb though:

"...and an idea how to avoid a future asteroid Armageddon."

yeah, because we have our shit together so much that we can afford that giant atari-style asteroids laser ship.

glad their at least trying. now if only we could land something on one. that would be cool.

[Harry Monroe]

2. No, we shouldn't land anything on any heavenly body period!!

We'd probably even fuck up the ecology of the asteroid!! Until we get our shit together on earth, I don't think we have any business whatsoever going out in space.