Everyone here I’m sure is aware of the asteroid now heading our way but will miss the Earth by at least 17,000 miles. That won’t stop the media hype and tweeting about impending doom, generated for the most part by the last two killer asteroid movies. Seriously though, astronomers have identified at least 154 potentially harmful rocks out there that are being watched. The effects of an impact would be devastating though as even the one that will miss us would have the force of a hydrogen bomb. Ever visited an impact crater? We have one here about an hour away from us. The Adenas built the serpent effigy mound around the lip of a crater made over 300millon years ago. it’s enormous and can easily be seen from the air. The US government has mandated NASA to monitor all asteroids known to be in our vicinity, now what to do about them? Lots of potential solutions but planting a nuclear weapon on one isn’t on the agenda. Space is a scary place indeed and there’s no Deus Ex Machina to count on non believers!
You mean the "Apophis"?
If there is another heading our way, I haven't heard about it. :ahhh:
I don't think this is Apophis. It is another one, I believe it will be flying by today. The science center near my home is having a viewing party. It has been overcast and rainy lately, so I hope they see something.
It’s called 2012 DA 14 and it’s due to make a pass at us in 5 days but will be about 17,000 miles out so the dinosaurs here can breathe a deep sigh of relief! Just a thought about how chaotic the system we live in really is, as apparently these near misses happen a lot more frequently that people imagine. http://www.bdlive.co.za/world/2013/02/08/near-impact-asteroid-to-miss-earth-narrowly
Cap’t Jack
You mean the "Apophis"?
If there is another heading our way, I haven't heard about it. :ahhh:
This asteroid (2012 DA14) is much smaller than Apophis. I believe it is something on the order of 45 meters in diameter ( less than half the length of a football field). Apophis is far larger at 325 meters in diameter. It would do a lot of damage if it slammed into 5th Ave in the middle of the day, but if it slammed into the ocean or on someone's farm the damage would be realtively limited ( not so much if you're the farmer, but limited for the rest of us).
It will be funny if it takes out a satellite. I haven’t heard any mention of that possibility, but I suppose they have checked that. How maneuverable are any of our satellites?
psik
That question has actually been addressed. The asteroid will be passing through the earth/moon system at an incline to our equator and at a distance that places it further away than our low orbit satellites and closer than our geosynchronous ones. The odds of hitting a satellite would be small even if the asteroid crossed the orbit of one but given the path it is taking it will not cross the orbits of any man made objects. This animation] helps illustrate the point.
Comforting info Mac; I really thought we had more geosynchronous sattilites than that! Although I wasn’t happy with the dire warning at the end of the video where the effects of Earth’s gravity will make it harder to predict the next encounter. I may join DM for that beer!
Cap’t Jack
Don’t worry. It is difficult to predict exactly how earths gravity will affect the asteroid before it passes by but it will be relatively easy to observe the effect after it happens and track the asteroid to predict its future orbit. Regardless of the variables in the predictions they are pretty sure the next closest approach will be decades and the future and that passage will be 100’s of thousands of miles from the earth instead of 10’s of thousands, but go ahead and have the beer anyway. Who needs an excuse for a beer?
I’ll take your advice, head for the fridge and a cold Sam Adams and settle in for another hundred years of frightful near misses. Now on to those comets that fly by here pretty often, like the one, Haley’s that kept showing up around Mark Twain. Proof that god is warning atheists to repent! And yet another reason to down a brew.
Cap’t Jack
Comforting info Mac; I really thought we had more geosynchronous sattilites than that!
I think we have many more. But of course they are all at the exact same distance to earth, in the equatorial plain. So if you have drawn the orbit of one, you have drawn them all...
For the rest that animation is very clear. So I will not worry that my television set will not be working anymore after the 15th.
Edit: Ah, Wikipedia ]has the answer...
That’s interesting. Too bad we won’t be able to see it in North America.
From what I've read Mike, it looks like Indonesia is the best place to view the asteroid. They'll probably post photos of the event on the Internet.
Cap't Jack
The BBC reporter said most of the injured people were looking at the meteor through windows when the shock wave from the explosion shattered the windows. Note to self: if I am inside and notice a large meteor in the sky run outside to observe it.
