The asteroid, designated 2004 XP14, was discovered on Dec. 10, 2004 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR), a continuing camera survey to keep watch for asteroids that may pass uncomfortably close to Earth.

Although initially there were concerns that this asteroid might possibly impact Earth later this century and thus merit special monitoring, further analysis of its orbit has since ruled out any such collision, at least in the foreseeable future.

Size not known

Asteroid 2004 XP14 is a member of a class of asteroids known as Apollo, which have Earth-crossing orbits. The name comes from 1862 Apollo, the first asteroid of this group to be discovered. There are now 1,989 known Apollos.

The size of 2004 XP 14 is not precisely known. But based on its brightness, the diameter is believed to be somewhere in the range of 1,345 to 3,018-feet (410 to 920 meters). That's between a quarter mile and just over a half-mile wide.

Due to the proximity of its orbit to Earth [Map] and its estimated size, this object has been classified as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" (PNA) by the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There are currently 783 PNAs.

The latest calculations show that 2004 XP14 will pass closest to Earth at 04:25 UT on July 3 (12:25 a.m. EDT or 9:25 p.m. PDT on July 2). The asteroid's distance from Earth at that moment will be 268,624-miles (432,308 km), or just 1.1 times the Moon's average distance from Earth.

Spotting 2004 XP14 will be a challenge, best accomplished by seasoned observers with moderate-sized telescopes.

On April 13, 2029, observers in Asia and North Africa will have a chance to see another asteroid, but without needing a telescope. Asteroid 99942 Apophis, about 1,000 feet (300 meters) wide, is expected to be visible to the naked eye as it passes within 20,000 miles (32,000 km). Astronomers say an asteroid that large comes that close about once every 1,500 years.

Observing plans

As 2004 XP14 makes its closest approach to Earth, astronomers will attempt to gauge its size and shape by analysis of very high frequency radio waves reflected from its surface.

Such radar measurements of the exact distance and velocity of the asteroid will allow for precise information on its orbit. From this scientists can also discern details of the asteroid's mass, as well as a measurement of its density, which is a very important indicator of its overall composition and internal structure.

Astronomers plan to utilize NASA's 70-meter (230-foot) diameter Goldstone radar, the largest and most sensitive antenna in its Deep Space Network. Located in California's Mojave Desert, the Goldstone antenna has been used to bounce radio signals off other Near-Earth asteroids many times before, and it is now being readied to "ping" 2004 XP14 on July 3, 4 and 5.

Augmenting the Goldstone observations will be radar observations scheduled at Evpatoria in the Ukraine, commencing several hours prior to the July 3 observations at Goldstone.

Editor's Note: A SPACE.com viewer's guide for 2004 XP14 will be presented in Joe Rao's weekly Night Sky column on Friday, June 30.

The group argues that under the U.S. Clean Air Act, the EPA must enforce tighter standards on motor vehicles to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Many scientists say there is growing evidence that carbon dioxide is trapping the earth's heat and contributing to global warming.

In their appeal of the federal court ruling, the group argued that the case "goes to the heart of the EPA's statutory responsibilities to deal with the most pressing environmental problem of our time."

But Washington says the EPA has discretion over whether to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. The administration also argues that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant under the federal clean air law.

It says the EPA should not be required to "embark on the extraordinarily complex and scientifically uncertain task of addressing the global issue of greenhouse gas emissions."

Instead, the administration argues there are voluntary ways to address climate change.

The lawsuit was prompted after the EPA's top lawyer concluded in 2003 that the agency did not have the authority to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. This reversed a legal opinion issued by the Clinton administration.

The plaintiffs include the states of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

A number of cities and environmental groups are also part of the lawsuit. They include Baltimore, New York City and Washington D.C., the Pacific island of America Samoa, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.

Western Maharashtra state has also been badly hit with 74 deaths reported so far, mainly from lightning, while a few people drowned at sea.

In July 2005, hundreds of people perished when the state capital Mumbai was hit by record rainfalls.

In the northeastern state of Assam, some 600,000 people were displaced by floods earlier this month but the waters have begun to recede and many people are returning to their homes, officials said.

The monsoon hit India's Andaman archipelago on May 18 and then swirled up the west coast states of Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is expected to reach northern states this week.

"I just wanted to hear about stuff about America that I haven't heard in my history books," 10-year-old Loria Hawn of Laurinburg, N.C., said with disappointment outside the locked National Museum of American History.

The National Archives - where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution are safe under glass - was shut down because the moat surrounding the building on Pennsylvania Avenue had flooded, spokeswoman Susan Cooper said. All records and national treasures were "safe and dry," she said.

The archives will remain closed Tuesday, just days before the Fourth of July weekend.

Flooding also closed IRS headquarters, the Commerce Department and the Justice Department, but the federal government as a whole remained in business.

The National Gallery of Art shut down because of a weather-related steam outage. The gallery uses steam to maintain the proper environment to preserve its priceless collections, a museum spokeswoman said. But the artworks were reported to be in no danger.

The National Zoo was closed to cars because of flooding in the parking lot but was open to pedestrians. Then it shut down entirely in the afternoon.

The tree that fell on the White House front lawn blocked a road, but visitors were not affected since no tours had been scheduled Monday, the National Park Service said.

More than 7 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in the city at the National Arboretum on Sunday and Monday, with up to 14 inches in parts of Delaware and 12 inches at Federalsburg, Md., on the Eastern Shore.

Just outside the city, more than 10 inches fell at Hyattsville, Md., where authorities evacuated 15 homes and used boats to rescue 69 people who were trapped inside, said Mark Brady, a Prince George's County fire and rescue spokesman. Boats also were also used to rescue 30 people marooned in Chevy Chase, Md., and some motorists had to be rescued from flooded underpasses in Washington during the night.

A mudslide piled debris as much as 5 feet deep on the Capital Beltway, which carries Interstate 95 around Washington. Motorists were urged to avoid downtown Washington and other areas because of mudslides, fallen trees and street flooding.

"The fewer people on the road, the better," Harford County, Md., spokeswoman Susan Collins said.

The Potomac River's Northwest Branch flooded U.S. 29, a major commuter route through Silver Spring, Md., with 5 feet of water and left a layer of mud that closed it for nearly a mile. "I've never seen anything like it," said Wayne A. Mowdy of the State Highway administration, who has worked in the area for 28 years.

In Elkton, Md., a 6-foot wide, 2-foot deep hole opened on I-95, blocking traffic in two northbound lanes, state police said.

Amtrak and commuter rail service also were disrupted. Metro subway service in Washington was interrupted during the morning commute by water on the electrified rails, but the trains were running again by noon.

Thousands of homes and businesses inside the city and in the Virginia and Maryland suburbs lost power.

Rain is forecast in the Washington area and other parts of the East Coast every day this week because of a low-pressure system stalled off the coast, the National Weather Service said.

"It's going to be a challenging week," said Maryland State Highway Administration spokesman David Buck.

A single-car crash that killed one person near Bowie, Md., was probably related to the weather, authorities said.

In Arizona, a 58,300-acre wildfire north of Grand Canyon National Park jumped the only highway leading to the remote North Rim, closing the road and marooning hundreds of tourists and workers. The fire was burning about 30 miles from the park, but officials said no one was in any danger.

"The canyon is covered in smoke,'' Amber Boeldt of Globe said in a telephone interview from the Grand Canyon Lodge, where she and her family were staying. "That's all you can smell.''

An estimated 200 of the 950 stranded people drove for two hours on a forest to Fredonia, said park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge. Crews planned to evaluate conditions Tuesday morning to determine whether it was safe to escort out the remaining people.

As many as 300 homes and businesses east of Carson City in the Mound House area were threatened by a pair of brush fires covering an estimated 1,500 acres that forced the temporary closure of part of U.S. Highway 50.

Nevada officials earlier ordered evacuations in two rural communities near Elko and flames burned within a quarter mile of homes 15 miles northwest of Reno, but no injuries were reported and no homes faced immediate threat. Some residents also voluntarily evacuated from the rural valleys on the northern outskirts of Reno, where some of the new lightning fires that began Monday were burning an estimated 2,000 acres.

Nevada's biggest fire has grown to 40,000 acres about 20 miles west of Elko near Carlin, where the University of Nevada Fire Science Academy is located along I-80.

"We do a lot of real-life fire training, but we never expected this,'' said Denise Baclawski, the academy's executive director. "All night long we had staff members work to protect the facility.''

Northwest of Reno, a 1,500-acre wildfire in the Sierra just across the Nevada-California line was estimated to be 50 percent contained early Tuesday and some of those 250 firefighters were being transferred elsewhere.

About 90 miles north along U.S. Highway 395 near Susanville, Calif., an 100-acre fire forced evacuations of as many as 100 homes before residents began returning Monday night.

Near Sedona, Ariz., fire officials predicted that a 4,200-acre fire that forced hundreds to evacuate would be contained Wednesday. Owners of the roughly 400 homes and scattered businesses still evacuated were expected be allowed to return Tuesday night.

Elsewhere, a 3,200-acre blaze a mile west of the northern New Mexico town of Gallina calmed. Crews were still fighting the fire, though evacuees from 120 homes in three subdivisions were allowed to return Monday.

As of Monday, wildfires around the United States had blackened 3.3 million acres this year, compared with 1.2 million acres on average at this point in the fire season, the National Interagency Fire Center reported. However, much of this year's acreage resulted from huge grass fires in Texas and Oklahoma this spring, not from forest fires.

Residents of the Fannin Farm neighborhood, which is bisected by a 106-acre greenbelt, said the peacocks have been there for at least seven years.

One woman said her daughter was scratched on the stomach by one of the peacocks. Other neighbors complained about the birds' feeding on gardens.

"There are neighbors who will not visit my home any more because of the peacocks," resident Elfreda Makil said. "Not everyone's going to love them."

Sandy Vaughn, a flock defender, has placed mirrors in her yard to attract the attention of the alpha male, which some neighbors call "Big Daddy."

"He pecks at the mirrors, but he's not broken one yet," Vaughn said.

Neighborhood residents decided at the Thursday meeting to place more mirrors in the neighborhood to try to hold the peacocks' attention and keep them away from people and vehicles.

They also agreed to reassess the situation after mating season, with thinning the flock remaining an option.

Several residents opposed the idea of trapping and relocating the flock's alpha male. Resident Charlotte Shaw said people have come to associate the neighborhood with peacocks.

"It isn't just us that enjoys these birds, it's all of Arlington that enjoys these birds," Shaw said. "These birds belong to everyone."