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Posted on 07/14/2008 5:17:36 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A good-sized asteroid sailing past our planet right now turns out to be two giant rocks doing a celestial jig.
The setup, catalogued as 2008 BT18, was thought to be nearly a half-mile wide after its discovery by MIT's LINEAR search program in January. Nothing else was known about it.
Now seen as two objects orbiting each other, the pair will be closest to Earth on July 14, at about 1.4 million miles (2 million kilometers) away. That's nearly six times as far from us as the moon...
Radar observations from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico on July 6 and 7 "clearly show two objects," said Lance Benner of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The objects are estimated to be 1,970 feet (600 meters) and 650 feet (200 meters) in diameter. The larger one rotates upon its axis in 3 hours or less...
Asteroid 2008 BT18 remains classified by NASA as "potentially hazardous" because its future orbits have not been fully determined.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
linked at the article:
Holes in the Earth: 170 and Counting
by Clara Moskowitz
April 14, 2008
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080414-mm-earth-holes.html
Ping.
Sweet ... every time one of these guys cruise by we have a chance to collect more tiny moons. These things would also make great spacestation platforms.
Study Puts Solar Spin On Asteroids, Their Moons & Earth Impacts
PhysOrg | Wednesday, July 9, 2008 | University of Maryland
Posted on 07/10/2008 9:10:10 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2043470/posts
Almighty Smash Left Record Crater On Mars
New Scientist | 6-25-2008 | David Shiga
Posted on 06/25/2008 1:29:46 PM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2036366/posts
Threat of Cometary Impacts may be Underestimated
SpaceDaily | 10/27/2004
Posted on 10/27/2004 7:54:44 AM PDT by cogitator
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1258710/posts
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LOL
That’s today! Spaceweather.com has been following the story.
Lost opportunity. Repeal the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty and let space development begin.
The ACLU*, legislatures of 18 states and a few countries immediately demanded they be afforded marriage rights...
Domestic partners?
I think I saw matching rings...
I think I saw matching rings...
32 stinkin’s seconds...
Real life “dancing with the stars”.
Hey, you know it’s the right thing to do... ;’)
Experienced amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere may be able to photograph the double-rock using backyard telescopes and CCD cameras on July 14th when 2008 BT18 makes its closest approach to Earth (2 million km). The asteroid will flit through Canis Major, heading south, glowing like a 13th magnitude star.
They make even better projectiles to take out threats in a way that looks accidental.
Dancin’ funny with asteroids... ;’)
Or great big new crater lakes.
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