Big asteroid approaches Earth

[JPB]

AN ASTEROID measuring around 250 metres across will come within 1.4 moon-distances of the Earth on Tuesday next, at around 8.33am. But it will not cause earthly havoc, death and destruction, scientists guaranteed.

It'll be the biggest asteroid to come that close in twenty years. Named 2007 TU24, the object has been tracked by Nasa since first spotted in October last year. Which isn't that long ago if you think about it.

There is another asteroid heading for Mars on Wednesday next, a fact which is causing all sorts of panic on www.Davidicke.com, strapline: ?exposing the dream world we believe to be real? (did he steal that from the INQ?) where the heads are taking it as some sort of sign.

Yes, it is a sign that the solar system is made up of a star, several large gas planets, rocky planets and moons and millions and millions of smaller rocks called asteroids.

Qualified sky watcher Steve Ostro, who works at the Near Earth Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been keeping his eye Asteroid number 2007 TU24. He told New Scientist: ?We can absolutely guarantee that there?s zero chance of any hazardous close approaches to earth until 2170.? So that's all right then.

Watch the skies. µ

Link

 

[SagaLore]

Seems like a good opportunity to latch a probe onto that asteroid. Or are we just going to wave and watch it go by?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
Seems like a good opportunity to latch a probe onto that asteroid. Or are we just going to wave and watch it go by?

Yeah. But 4 months aren't enough for the logistics of sending up a probe.

Personally, I say fire nukes at it to study it.

 

[legoman666]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13

Originally posted by: SagaLore
Seems like a good opportunity to latch a probe onto that asteroid. Or are we just going to wave and watch it go by?

Yeah. But 4 months aren't enough for the logistics of sending up a probe.

Personally, I say fire nukes at it to study it.

damn right. When in doubt, nuke it!

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: JPB
Qualified sky watcher Steve Ostro, who works at the Near Earth Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been keeping his eye Asteroid number 2007 TU24. He told New Scientist: ?We can absolutely guarantee that there?s zero chance of any hazardous close approaches to earth until 2170.?

This guy's grant-getting, budget-boosting skills suck.

 

[SketchMaster]

Originally posted by: JPB
AN ASTEROID measuring around 250 metres across will come within 1.4 moon-distances of the Earth...

Dang, that's not that far when you think about it...

 

[upsciLLion]

Originally posted by: SketchMaster

Originally posted by: JPB
AN ASTEROID measuring around 250 metres across will come within 1.4 moon-distances of the Earth...

Dang, that's not that far when you think about it...

More like not close enough when you think about it.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: upsciLLion

Originally posted by: SketchMaster

Originally posted by: JPB
AN ASTEROID measuring around 250 metres across will come within 1.4 moon-distances of the Earth...

Dang, that's not that far when you think about it...

More like not close enough when you think about it.

+1

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13

Originally posted by: SagaLore
Seems like a good opportunity to latch a probe onto that asteroid. Or are we just going to wave and watch it go by?

Yeah. But 4 months aren't enough for the logistics of sending up a probe.

Personally, I say fire nukes at it to study it.

Not to mention that they'd need to build a probe first. Sure we could really lighten up the design tolerances and quick build another Mars Exploration Rover, but it'd crash into the surface, as the heat shield would fail to slow it down, as would the parachute - no atmosphere.

 

[Rubycon]

It's hard to shoot them with such short notice.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
It's hard to shoot them with such short notice.

wha?

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: upsciLLion

Originally posted by: SketchMaster

Originally posted by: JPB
AN ASTEROID measuring around 250 metres across will come within 1.4 moon-distances of the Earth...

Dang, that's not that far when you think about it...

More like not close enough when you think about it.

lol, definitely.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

8:33am...

What time zone?

 

[sao123]

if we cant ready a mission in 4 months we have no chance of saving the planet when the real one hits.

 

[ThePresence]

Can't we send Bruce Willis?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: ironwing

Originally posted by: JPB
Qualified sky watcher Steve Ostro, who works at the Near Earth Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been keeping his eye Asteroid number 2007 TU24. He told New Scientist: ?We can absolutely guarantee that there?s zero chance of any hazardous close approaches to earth until 2170.?

This guy's grant-getting, budget-boosting skills suck.

He means no close approaches from that particular asteroid. There could be a bigger one on a collision course with us that will impact in the next week and nobody has seen it yet.

 

[JohnCU]

I DONT WANNA CLOSE MY EYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS

 

[newb111]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
Can't we send Bruce Willis?

He's busy filming Die Hard 5: Stay off my lawn.

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: sao123
if we cant ready a mission in 4 months we have no chance of saving the planet when the real one hits.

I'm guessing it's alot easier to ready a mission to blow something up than it is to plan an actual landing and develop a rover.

 

[Snapster]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: sao123
if we cant ready a mission in 4 months we have no chance of saving the planet when the real one hits.

I'm guessing it's alot easier to ready a mission to blow something up than it is to plan an actual landing and develop a rover.

You can also surmise that testing time would almost go out the window should there be a real one, it's a case of we need it now.

 

[HannibalX]

Let's shoot nukes at it for fun. It would be nice to know we could hit a moving target if we "had" to.

 

[conehead433]

TextThread about this started on 1-23.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider
Let's shoot nukes at it for fun. It would be nice to know we could hit a moving target if we "had" to.

Damn straight. Let's work out the bugs now so that if we ever have to blow one up for real we know how.



Wouldn't it be such wonderful irony that if in trying to blow it up we missed a little and deflected it onto a collision course with us?

 

[KhoiFather]

But if they nuke it and knock it on course towards Earth?

 

[conehead433]

Nuking it wouldn't work too well as there is really nothing to recoil against in space. In that the makers of the movie Armageddon had it right. You would need to be able to implant a nuke inside the asteroid to have much of an effect. Scientists have already been able to land a satellite on an asteroid. What would be needed is a lander with propulsion devices strong enough to steer the asteroid off course. Obviously the further out this could be done the less propulsion would be needed.