Asteroid Triple-Play November 8th & 9th 2011

[NN5AA]

Looks like Tuesday and Wednesday will be banner days for NASA astronomers, and amateurs & professionals alike, if they have access to a 6-inch or larger telescope, or one in their possession.


1st we have the 400 meter(1300-foot) battleship-sized asteroid 2005-YU55 passing within the orbit of the Moon, at 2328 UTC on Tuesday afternoon. It will pass closer to the Moon than planet Earth, but at such a velocity and in a different plane of entry as to not be of any concern, per NASA calculations.


It is being monitored daily, both by the massive 70-meter (230-foot) Deep Space Network antenna, and beginning on Tuesday the massive dish at Arecibo will join in for the astronomical festivities!


Then we have two smaller ones, 2010 RX30, a small rock only 10 to 20 meters in size, passing at 1051 UTC Wednesday, and 2010 RF12, 6 to 14 meters in size, zipping by at 2212 UTC on Wednesday. So it looks like a real 'rocky' couple of days! Yes, I know , that was a very bad pun.



Here's links to the articles at NASA:


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/as...-20111025.html


http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsyst...d20100907.html


73--NN5AA

A 100% Functioning Boat Anchor , Who Has Yet To Be Re-Capped

[K2WH]

I feel so safe the "Battleship Sized" asteroid is being monitored daily. Like in the movie "Independence Day", if it slows up or changes course, then it will be time to worry.

K2WH

[NN5AA]

I feel so safe the "Battleship Sized" asteroid is being monitored daily. Like in the movie "Independence Day", if it slows up or changes course, then it will be time to worry.

K2WH

You know Bill, that is an angle no one has commented about up till now in any of the many sites this asteroid has been discussed. If it were to suddenly slow down and/or change course, I'm sure that would get a lot of attention from a lot of folks real fast!


Hopefully these 3 larger than normal visitors to our remote 'neck of the woods' will have an uneventful and brief sojourn in our vicinity.


They say it will be the one we don't know about until it's almost here that will be problematic. But on the time frame of our galaxy or the cosmos at large, we're all here for such an insignificantly short period of time that most of us will never be witness to an ELE or anything approaching it.

Our concern near and long term will more than likely be of a more homegrown variety, like water shortages and related food supply issues, biological agents, drastic changes in weather patterns, or even the less likely but possible nuclear scenarios.

73, Vince--NN5AA

[NN5AA]

I feel so safe the "Battleship Sized" asteroid is being monitored daily. Like in the movie "Independence Day", if it slows up or changes course, then it will be time to worry.

K2WH

You know Bill, that is an angle no one has commented about up till now in any of the many sites this asteroid has been discussed. If it were to suddenly slow down and/or change course, I'm sure that would get a lot of attention from a lot of folks real fast!


Hopefully these 3 larger than normal visitors to our remote 'neck of the woods' will have an uneventful and brief sojourn in our vicinity.


They say it will be the one we don't know about until it's almost here that will be problematic. But on the time frame of our galaxy or the cosmos at large, we're all here for such an insignificantly short period of time that most of us will never be witness to an ELE or anything approaching it.

Our concern near and long term will more than likely be of a more homegrown variety, like water shortages and related food supply issues, biological agents, drastic changes in weather patterns, or even the less likely but possible nuclear scenarios.

73, Vince--NN5AA

[W7JZE]

... but at such a velocity and in a different plane of entry as to not be of any concern, per NASA calculations...

OOPS!

Asteroid Impact - 01.jpg

Hey Richard, yah wanna bring your calculator over here and run those numbers again ?