Posted on 02/06/2016 2:42:17 AM PST by LibWhacker
Or Mecca
Yeah, thanks a lot Superman.
When they get to about the size of a football stadium, start saying your prayers.
Me too!
Laser test to ensue?.
Those are very good questions. But I’m afraid I don’t have any good answers.
As seen from Earth, this asteroid has been close to the Sun most of the time since it was discovered, and so has been unavailable for viewing; the amount of data on it is meager.
As I recall, there are a handful of “orbital elements” that completely determine any orbit. Maybe they have interval estimates for each of them, and by plugging in those numbers they can get a best and worst case scenario?
Hot Fudge Saturdae!
* * *
Noooooooo! Bite your tongue. Or your keyboard. Yeah, that’s it, bite your keyboard! LOL! We don’t need no stinkin’ Hammer here....
A few years ago I read a book about the potential danger from the sky. The book pointed out that the Southern Hemisphere has only about 1 tenth the number of observers that are at work in the Northern Hemisphere. This includes both professional and amateur astronomers. The book suggested helping interested folk in the SH acquire telescopes and communications to help watch for these dangers.
When the possible trajectories range from 11,000 miles to 14 million miles that statement is ludicrous.
They haven't had 2 years of observation. They had a brief glimpse of it 2 years ago as it approached the sun. It's been behind the sun since then and will approach us coming from the sun, just as the meteor that exploded over Russia did.
It’s true, and one problem in the southern hemisphere is that most of the Earth’s land surface is n of the equator. Equatorial observatories can (over the course of a year) view all or almost all of the sky, but need to be at high altitude for the lower temps.
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