Don't Worry: Asteroid Headed Toward Earth.

The vapor trail of a falling meteoroid.

Right now, at this hour-1:30 p.m. the asteroid is approximately 21,000 miles away from earth.  No reason to freak out though.  At its closest point to earth, it'll be 17,200 miles away.  Scientists say there is no chance it's going to hit our planet earth- so they say.  It's the size of half a football field, and, oh by the way, did you hear about the meteorite that struck the southern part of Russia and injured 1,000 people?   At this moment, the channel I'm listening to, a happy newsman reports on this impending asteroid, and then quickly follows up with the story of the huge meteorite that flared through the skies over Russia's Chelyabinsk region early Friday, February 15th-that's today.  A huge, strong shock wave that accompanied this meteorite injured nearly a thousand people.  It blew out windows and reportedly caused the roof of a factory to collapse.  Many of the reported injuries linked to the blast were caused by shards of flying glass.  I have to wonder if Russia's local news reported on this meteorite?  I guess it doesn't matter, because I tend to worry more especially when I'm told by our reliable news media not to worry!

A worker removing pieces of broken glass resulting from the meteorite's blast.

A photo provided by the Russian Interior Ministry's Chelyabinsk regional branch shows people standing near a 26-foot-wide hole in the ice of Chebarkul Lake, reportedly created by a meteorite that fell to Earth on Feb. 15.