Two small asteroids to pass by Earth within few hours – Wednesday 8 September to Thursday 9 September 2010 – no need to panic

The path of the small asteroid 2010RF12 around the Sun. On this scale on 9 September 2010 the positions of Earth and the asteroid cannot be separated. Image credit NASA/JPL
Between 7 pm AEST on Wednesday 8 September 2010 and 8 am the next morning two small, newly discovered pieces of space rock are passing between the Earth and the Moon. Such passes by small asteroids are not rare, but it is unusual to have two happening at almost the same time. The two asteroids, 2010RX30 and 2010RF12, were both discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey operated by the University of Arizona on Sunday 5 September 2010.
The asteroid 2010RX30 is believed to be the larger with an estimated width between 10 and 20 metres. It is due to pass at a distance of about 230,000 km above the Earth at about 7:45 pm AEST Wednesday. A large telescope will be needed to see the object even at its closest and it will be low in the sky and setting as seen from Australia.
The asteroid 2010RF12 is estimated at 6 to 14 metres in width. It is due to pass the Earth on Thursday morning at about 7:15 am ...