An asteroid almost hit Earth today

[Synomenon]

200ft. wide? That wouldn't do anything. Would burn up in the atmosphere.

 

[NL5]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: MotF Bane

Originally posted by: NL5
I think the main problem is the massive amount of debris that would be put into the atmosphere after an impact like that.

It's not that big, and the ocean is pretty deep.

Not really. The ocean is what 1-2 km deep over most of it? When the asteroid is moving at 20 km/s that's less than 0.1 seconds to get through it.

It's amazing how much energy is involved.

A much smaller asteroid caused an explosion that knocked over an estimated 80 million trees over 2,150 square kilometres (830 square miles). It was estimated that the earthquake from the blast would have measured 5.0 on the Richter scale, which was not yet developed at the time.

And it just burst apart in the air.

 

[Modelworks]

Really depends what it was made of as to whether it would do damage. Solid iron could be devastating. Rock and ice would likely break up and rain debris the size of grapefruits. The air burst in 1909 was a totally different type of event. It is only a matter of time before something hits us again. We are way overdue.

 

[randay]

not like we need tahiti anyway.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
The scariest part is that apparently it was only spotted a few days ago. It's kind of crazy that an asteroid large enough to wipe us out could be on the way and we might not notice it until days or weeks before it was supposed to hit.

Another site mentioned that it was about the same size as the one responsible for the explosion at Tunguska.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event

We do track 1035 of them, but it is hard to spot. It is like you standing in California with a pair of binoculars trying to see a tennis ball I am holding in New York. Add that it is really dark out around the asteroid belts and it would be like doing it at night.

Here is a list of the ones that are supposed to come close:
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/lists/PHACloseApp.html

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: Sawyer
A 200-foot wide asteroid zoomed past Earth today at an altitude of 40,000 miles - swerving far enough from our planet to avoid total destruction, officials said.
...
Had 2009 DD45 slammed down onto the Earth, it would have exploded with the force of a large nuclear blast somewhere in the Pacific Ocean west of Tahiti.

Does not compute. It missed us by approximately five times the diameter of the earth yet had it hit it would have hit right there. 😕

 

[OUCaptain]

This makes me wonder. I didn't hear a word about it yesterday. If an asteroid really was about to hit, would they even tell us or just let us die panic free?

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: OUCaptain
This makes me wonder. I didn't hear a word about it yesterday. If an asteroid really was about to hit, would they even tell us or just let us die panic free?

All I know is that if it lands in my yard, I'll be rich! Pallasites = US$25-40/gram.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Ah well, better luck next time.

 

[Modelworks]

The one in June of this year scares me a lot more. Compared to it , this one was a grain of sand.
FE90
Number 2001
Approx Diameter ( Km ) 470
Closest Approach ( AU ) 0.0185
Closest Approach Date 2009 Jun 28
Absolute Magnitude 19.8
Semi-major axis ( AU ) 1.929
Orbit Period ( days ) 2.68
Orbital Inclination ( degs ) 8.8
Orbital Eccentricity 0.495
Picture + Data Source N.A.S.A.

 

[moparacer]

Originally posted by: Sawyer
A 200-foot wide asteroid zoomed past Earth today at an altitude of 40,000 miles - swerving far enough from our planet to avoid total destruction, officials said.

Dubbed 2009 DD45, the large rock was discovered only Friday by Australian astronomers.

The enormous asteroid narrowly avoided a collision with Earth at 8:44 EST, officials said.

Although 40,000 miles sounds like a safe distance, it's only about one-seventh of the way to the moon and less than twice as far out as most satellites, astronomers said.

Had 2009 DD45 slammed down onto the Earth, it would have exploded with the force of a large nuclear blast somewhere in the Pacific Ocean west of Tahiti.

Astronomers said the asteroid is likely to return for another series of near misses since it's somehow drawn in by our planet's gravity.

Peter Brown, an astronomer at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, said the last rock "as large or larger than this to come this close was in 1973 and the next time will be in 2029 when Apophis makes its close approach."

Apophis initially caused some concern among scientists when its plotted course revealed it to be on a collision trajectory with Earth, but further investigations have since shown it will pass harmlessly by.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03...isses_earth_157694.htm

Hmm let me get this straight....They Just found this 200 ft atomic bomb size asteroid FRIDAY and they go on the reassure us nothing else will be close until the year 2029????😕

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
The one in June of this year scares me a lot more. Compared to it , this one was a grain of sand.
FE90
Number 2001
Approx Diameter ( Km ) 470
Closest Approach ( AU ) 0.0185
Closest Approach Date 2009 Jun 28
Absolute Magnitude 19.8
Semi-major axis ( AU ) 1.929
Orbit Period ( days ) 2.68
Orbital Inclination ( degs ) 8.8
Orbital Eccentricity 0.495
Picture + Data Source N.A.S.A.

How much is an AU in American money?

 

[NL5]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
Really depends what it was made of as to whether it would do damage. Solid iron could be devastating. Rock and ice would likely break up and rain debris the size of grapefruits. The air burst in 1909 was a totally different type of event. It is only a matter of time before something hits us again. We are way overdue.

Very True. I was not saying this would be as devastating, just that it could do significant damage. Its a lot of energy.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: randay
not like we need tahiti anyway.

But where else where we get Tahitian Treat? I :heart: that stuff.

 

[theMan]

wow... talk about sensationalism. this sort of thing happens all the time. and I enjoyed this line:

Astronomers said the asteroid is likely to return for another series of near misses since it's somehow drawn in by our planet's gravity.

lol, "somehow drawn in by gravity"? gravity is an attractive force? what now?

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: ironwing

Originally posted by: Modelworks
The one in June of this year scares me a lot more. Compared to it , this one was a grain of sand.
FE90
Number 2001
Approx Diameter ( Km ) 470
Closest Approach ( AU ) 0.0185
Closest Approach Date 2009 Jun 28
Absolute Magnitude 19.8
Semi-major axis ( AU ) 1.929
Orbit Period ( days ) 2.68
Orbital Inclination ( degs ) 8.8
Orbital Eccentricity 0.495
Picture + Data Source N.A.S.A.

How much is an AU in American money?

0.0185 AU, at the current exchange rate, will get us about 1.7 million American moneys.
And about 2.7 million British/Canadian/world kilo moneys

That's a good deal.
ahem. 😛

A good deal further than this recent asteroid, which was quite a bit closer than the Moon is to us.
Considering the moon is about 0.0026 AU from Earth (roughly 384,500 km, 238,800 miles) from us. That incoming beast either needs to be terribly miscalculated, or hit by something else, deflected from current trajectory, and sent screaming towards us (and not running like a coward in the other direction if its nudged the other direction).

I'm not too worried. Because duh. Nothing is going to happen until a freakishly huge asteroid gets knocked out of the Asteroid Belt and slams into us late in 2012. 😛

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: theman
wow... talk about sensationalism. this sort of thing happens all the time. and I enjoyed this line:

Astronomers said the asteroid is likely to return for another series of near misses since it's somehow drawn in by our planet's gravity.

lol, "somehow drawn in by gravity"? gravity is an attractive force? what now?

it finds us attractive. We should be flattered we are receiving the attention of the cosmos.
Just wait until the jealous and controlling lover decides it wasn't happy with us fluttering our eyes at it, and that big boy wants to shove us around. 😀

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: Gibsons

Originally posted by: Quintox

Originally posted by: Bateluer
200 foot wide? Seriously, we've set of a number of nuclear bombs in the last 50 years. What are we looking at, damage wise, from a mere 200 foot asteroid hitting in the ocean? Probably some tsunamis and devestation of islands, likely some coastal damage. Doubt we'd see any serious loss of life along coastal areas. There'd be enough lead time at that point for an evacuation.

Yeah how would a 200 foot rock cause a nuclear explosion. B S

It doesn't cause a nuclear explosion. It would release a similar amount of energy to a nuclear explosion.

According to this site, an impact would have been near 1 megaton. (I assumed dense rock, 17 km/sec)

Your Inputs:
Distance from Impact: 1000.00 km = 621.00 miles
Projectile Diameter: 4023350.00 m = 13196588.00 ft = 2498.50 miles
Projectile Density: 8000 kg/m3
Impact Velocity: 75.00 km/s = 46.58 miles/s (Your chosen velocity is higher than the maximum for an object orbiting the sun)
Impact Angle: 90 degrees
Target Density: 2750 kg/m3
Target Type: Crystalline Rock
Energy:
Energy before atmospheric entry: 7.67 x 1032 Joules = 1.83 x 1017 MegaTons TNT
The average interval between impacts of this size is longer than the Earth's age.
Such impacts could only occur during the accumulation of the Earth, between 4.5 and 4 billion years ago.
Major Global Changes:
The Earth is completely disrupted by the impact and its debris forms a new asteroid belt orbiting the sun between Venus and Mars.

I win!

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Sawyer
Astronomers said the asteroid is likely to return for another series of near misses since it's somehow drawn in by our planet's gravity.

Somehow? What are these astronomers smoking? 😕

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Born2bwire

Originally posted by: Gibsons

Originally posted by: Quintox

Originally posted by: Bateluer
200 foot wide? Seriously, we've set of a number of nuclear bombs in the last 50 years. What are we looking at, damage wise, from a mere 200 foot asteroid hitting in the ocean? Probably some tsunamis and devestation of islands, likely some coastal damage. Doubt we'd see any serious loss of life along coastal areas. There'd be enough lead time at that point for an evacuation.

Yeah how would a 200 foot rock cause a nuclear explosion. B S

It doesn't cause a nuclear explosion. It would release a similar amount of energy to a nuclear explosion.

According to this site, an impact would have been near 1 megaton. (I assumed dense rock, 17 km/sec)

Your Inputs:
Distance from Impact: 1000.00 km = 621.00 miles
Projectile Diameter: 4023350.00 m = 13196588.00 ft = 2498.50 miles
Projectile Density: 8000 kg/m3
Impact Velocity: 75.00 km/s = 46.58 miles/s (Your chosen velocity is higher than the maximum for an object orbiting the sun)
Impact Angle: 90 degrees
Target Density: 2750 kg/m3
Target Type: Crystalline Rock
Energy:
Energy before atmospheric entry: 7.67 x 1032 Joules = 1.83 x 1017 MegaTons TNT
The average interval between impacts of this size is longer than the Earth's age.
Such impacts could only occur during the accumulation of the Earth, between 4.5 and 4 billion years ago.
Major Global Changes:
The Earth is completely disrupted by the impact and its debris forms a new asteroid belt orbiting the sun between Venus and Mars.

I win!

Hey God... can you at least slow that bitch down so that it's not breaking the observed rules of the solar system? Because well... that's just not fair.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: MotF Bane

Originally posted by: NL5
I think the main problem is the massive amount of debris that would be put into the atmosphere after an impact like that.

It's not that big, and the ocean is pretty deep.

Not really. The ocean is what 1-2 km deep over most of it? When the asteroid is moving at 20 km/s that's less than 0.1 seconds to get through it.

Assuming zero resistance. Right.

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: Sawyer
Astronomers said the asteroid is likely to return for another series of near misses since it's somehow drawn in by our planet's gravity.

Somehow? What are these astronomers smoking? 😕

The people who write the articles are NOT the astronomers.

Scientists cringe every time the popular press publishes an article.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Originally posted by: ironwing

Originally posted by: Sawyer
A 200-foot wide asteroid zoomed past Earth today at an altitude of 40,000 miles - swerving far enough from our planet to avoid total destruction, officials said.
...
Had 2009 DD45 slammed down onto the Earth, it would have exploded with the force of a large nuclear blast somewhere in the Pacific Ocean west of Tahiti.

Does not compute. It missed us by approximately five times the diameter of the earth yet had it hit it would have hit right there. 😕

Yeah that was my first thought. This whole article screams "hyperbole". And for fucks sake, metric measurements in science-related articles please. We're not all Neanderthals.

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
200 foot wide? Seriously, we've set of a number of nuclear bombs in the last 50 years. What are we looking at, damage wise, from a mere 200 foot asteroid hitting in the ocean? Probably some tsunamis and devestation of islands, likely some coastal damage. Doubt we'd see any serious loss of life along coastal areas. There'd be enough lead time at that point for an evacuation.

a several thousand foot high wave that washes over most of the landmass surrounding where it impacted.

dude, a 200 foot rock is a BIG FUCKING DEAL.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Fayd

Originally posted by: Bateluer
200 foot wide? Seriously, we've set of a number of nuclear bombs in the last 50 years. What are we looking at, damage wise, from a mere 200 foot asteroid hitting in the ocean? Probably some tsunamis and devestation of islands, likely some coastal damage. Doubt we'd see any serious loss of life along coastal areas. There'd be enough lead time at that point for an evacuation.

a several thousand foot high wave that washes over most of the landmass surrounding where it impacted.

dude, a 200 foot rock is a BIG FUCKING DEAL.

Well, this is dependent on its composition (thus its mass), as well as initial size. If it is 200ft outside of our atmosphere, most likely it would lose a good deal of its mass before reaching the surface.
200ft upon impact.. different story. Unless it's mostly just rocky material and/or frozen gasses, and not composed mostly of metals.

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: Fayd

Originally posted by: Bateluer
200 foot wide? Seriously, we've set of a number of nuclear bombs in the last 50 years. What are we looking at, damage wise, from a mere 200 foot asteroid hitting in the ocean? Probably some tsunamis and devestation of islands, likely some coastal damage. Doubt we'd see any serious loss of life along coastal areas. There'd be enough lead time at that point for an evacuation.

a several thousand foot high wave that washes over most of the landmass surrounding where it impacted.

dude, a 200 foot rock is a BIG FUCKING DEAL.

Well, this is dependent on its composition (thus its mass), as well as initial size. If it is 200ft outside of our atmosphere, most likely it would lose a good deal of its mass before reaching the surface.
200ft upon impact.. different story. Unless it's mostly just rocky material and/or frozen gasses, and not composed mostly of metals.

the article didnt say, i'm assuming metals. frozen gasses makes Tunguska event, rocky and metals makes arizona event.