If all goes according to plan, one week from today on Dec. 13, the Chinese Chang'e 2 probe will snap closeup photos of near-Earth asteroid 4179 Toutatis (too-TAT-us) from only 200 miles away. Toutatis ...
This morning two small asteroids passed harmlessly by Earth at distances of just 174,000 and 292,000 miles. 2012 XP134, the more distant and measuring 42 feet across, whizzed by at 8 a.m. (CST) and 40 ...