Daijiworld.com news reported that two asteroids, one of them more massive in size than the celestial body that exploded over Russia last month, would fly by the Earth Saturday, March 9, though not as close as to threaten any collision.
The first asteroid 2013 EC20 was discovered Thursday, March 7, by the Catalina Sky Survey project, which estimated it size at between three and twelve meters. The floating celestial mass was slated to pass over the Earth at 5:57 a.m. Moscow time Saturday at a distance of about 169,000 km from the Earth, according to the Massachusetts-based Minor Planet Centre.
Almost ten hours later the same day, the 2013 ET, sized between 45 and 140 meters, was to pass 972,000 km (604,000 miles) close to the planet. It will be monitored by a NASA radar in Goldstone, California.
With increasing frequency we hear references to asteroids. A LiveScience.com article “What are a meteor, a meteorite, and asteroid?” provides this definition of the term:
“An asteroid is a rocky object in space that's smaller than a planet — they're sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, according to NASA. Other sources refer to them loosely as "space debris," or leftover fragments from the formation of the solar system (like the extra pieces that remain after constructing a build-it-yourself bookcase from IKEA).
According to The Verge, William Cooke, lead scientist at NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, and other NASA scientists believe that asteroids generally come from the main asteroid belt, a donut-shaped ring of asteroids, most of which are located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Although thousands of asteroids cross into Earth's orbit, not all of them pose a threat. NASA recently released a survey from its infrared WISE space telescope estimating that about 4,700 of these near-Earth asteroids are "potentially hazardous," or large enough to survive entering the planet's atmosphere and capable of doing damage. Unfortunately, only 20 to 30 percent of these had been found as of the middle of 2012, the Verge reported.
The increasing frequency of fireballs, meteors, meteorites, asteroids and other cosmic occurrences is causing many to speculate as to what these astronomical phenomena really mean. Some look to the Bible and relate these occurrences to cosmic signs that appear prior to the return of Christ spoken of in the Gospels. Some say these occurrences are signs of the end times.
When asked about the signs of his return to earth, Jesus Christ speaks of “. . . fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”
The Last Days Bible Calendar states that asteroids are one of the end time signs that precede the Rapture or the Return of Christ:
“According to Matthew 24:29: Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.”
The word “star” that is found in the New Testament is translated into English from the Greek word aster, from which the term asteroid is derived. One of the signs in the heavens that will take place after Christ has returned and the Tribulation has begun is that asteroids will fall to earth.
Many who are observing the times and seasons, in light of the increase in meteors, asteroids, and other cosmic phenomena, recall the word of Christ:
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh. (Matthew 28:25-28)
Check out these related articles:
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