One day this information could be used to help move an asteroid out of an Earth-impacting orbit.

CNN: Meteor shows why it is crucial to keep an eye on the sky

Also, spacecraft stationed at L2 do not experience the swings in temperature that objects circling close to Earth sometimes undergo as they move in and out of shadow.

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This gives the dinosaur-killing rock only 15 million years to move into a suitable place to be flung out of the main belt and to travel to Earth in time for the impact 65 million years ago.

BBC: Asteroid thought to kill dinosaurs may not be guilty