Hybrid Comet-Asteroid In Mysterious Break-Up

New Scientist ^ | 4-11-2006 | Jeff Hecht

[NCC-1701]

Looks sort of like the photo I saw of Apollo 13 taken from the roof of Mission Control. The pic was shot with a camera mated to a telescope. The oxygen cloud is quite noticeable. The 36th anniversary of The Bang is coming up Thursday.

[RightWhale]

There is a website from the Canary Islands where telescopes are available over the Internet to members to look wherever in the sky they want. Slooh.com

Today or so they begin observing this comet, which has apparently disintegrated into 16 chunks. One of the astronomers at Slooh.com is Levy of Shoemaker-Levy that broke up over Jupiter a few years ago. Shoemaker is no longer with us.

[blam]

Interesting, I hadn't heard about this. I knew about Shoemaker though.

[theDentist]

I woke at 2 am last night and couldn't sleep, so I put on the Radio. Coast to Coast was on and they were discussing this. It seems, according to our friends, that this breaking up increases the chances of pieces hitting the earth (Bruce Willis! Paging Bruce Willis!!). It was very interesting.

Anyway, once they returned from a commercial, the guest started in with the twist: That Alien beings in UFO's were firing heat lasers into the comet to break off pieces that woul dhit the earth. The Purpose is not to hurt earthlings, but prevent us from starting a nuclear engagement with the Iranians.

I pretty much changed the station then to Classics, and let Brahms settle me back to sleep.

[blam]

"It seems, according to our friends, that this breaking up increases the chances of pieces hitting the earth."

Yup. That's what caught my attention. I'm a catastrophist.

[Cvengr]

bttt

[RightWhale]

Periodic comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 has now broken into more than 30 different pieces

[RightWhale]

The comet currently comprises a chain of over 33 separate fragments, named alphabetically, and stretching across several degrees on the sky (the Sun and Moon each have an apparent diameter of about 1/2 a degree).

The possible binariousness of the sun was mentioned on radio last night. This idea seems to be catching on, although the only evidence so far is the precession of the equinox.

[blam]

"The possible binariousness of the sun was mentioned on radio last night. This idea seems to be catching on, although the only evidence so far is the precession of the equinox."

I have to admit, I'm skeptical.

[RightWhale]

I am too. I have been trying to calculate how big it could be and how far it would have to be, and still remain undetected when astronomers have already spotted every star out to 50 lightyears. Still, it is possible.

[blam]

"...when astronomers have already spotted every star out to 50 lightyears. Still, it is possible."

And, galaxies out to 10-15 billion light years.

[RightWhale]

The second of the double would have to be within 2 lightyears. There was a report of a possible double 8 light years out, but that is unlikely since other stars are considerably closer. Wherever it is, the sun (and the planets) would have to go around it in 24,000 years, which puts it just beyond the Oort cloud. It would have to be much bigger than Jupiter although it needn't be much of a star as far as brightness is concerned. It would also have to be in the same plane (ecliptic) as the orbits of the planets, but which direction from here is not so clear.

[vollmond]

Ever read Footfall? Be afraid. These aliens won't be so easy to dominate.

[SunkenCiv]