Asteriod to pass Earth closer than the Moon?

An asteriod designated as 2011 MD will pass only 12,300 kilometers (7,600 miles) above the Earth’s surface, astronomer says.

According Geek.com,

2011 MD’s passing won’t mark the end of the excitement around near-Earth asteroids this year. An asteroid designated 2005 YU5 is 400-meters wide and expected to pass within the orbit of the Moon on November 8th. At least, that’s when the next known near-Earth asteroid is expected. There is always the possibility that LINEAR could detect another near-Earth asteroid before then and like 2011 MD we may not have a lot of lead time that it is coming.

2011 MD on Monday, June 27, 2011 at 09:30 UTC. Credit: Ernesto Guido, Nick Howes and Giovanni Sostero at the Faulkes Telescope South

An asteriod images like one from above taken by Ernesto Guido, Nick Howes and Giovanni Sostero at the Faulkes Telescope South through a 2.0-m f/10.0 Ritchey-Chretien and a CCD were posted on various sites today.