Posted on 01/31/2017 8:32:27 AM PST by BenLurkin
2017 BH30, which was discovered Sunday by the Catalina Sky Survey just hours before passing by us at the creepy-close distance of only 40,563 miles (65,280 kilometers).
This asteroid is estimated to be between 15 to 32.8 feet (4.6 to 10 meters) in length, making it somewhere between the size of a truck and a...big truck. That's pretty small by asteroid standards, but it's also the closest spotted asteroid to pass us since September, when asteroid 2016 RB1 passed within 24,000 miles (about 39,000 kilometers) of our planet's surface, putting it almost as close as satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
This is the third asteroid to buzz by earth closer than the distance to the moon this year. We don't expect a closer pass by one of these visitors until October, when asteroid 2012 TC4 could come more than twice as close.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnet.com ...
Gosh. Maybe there is something to those September 23rd predictions. ;)
You really have to question the veracity of an author who would use the terms six times as close and twice as close. Perhaps he was searching vainly for the terms one sixth and one half?
I saw huge, I mean huge meteor this morning around 5:40 A.M PST Broke up spectacularly looked like it was headed right a downtown L.A/Santa Monica. It was something to behold.
How much of it would have burned up before hitting the earth? If it starts at 32 feet, how much would be left?
I’ve seen those when I was driving a lot, late at night. They are spectacular.
They are probably a foot or two across at most.
Lots of light is generated by little mass when it hits the atmosphere.
Would you call it “truck” sized or more “Yugo” sized?
I understand that some of the spectacular ones can actually be pretty small objects.
Who writes this stuff? "twice as close"? What does that even mean? Does it mean that if the referenced distance is say 40,000 km then twice as close is 20,000 km or 80,000 km? I really hate "science" writers.
I thought there was a little more wind then usual.
I was wondering about the size - it was big enough I went mentally from “cool a shooting start” -to “OMG that could hit the city” all in the course of 2 seconds. Never seen one like that, Thank you for the info.
That wasn't a meteor. That was a Chinese Missile Test.
; )
???
Ahh, so that explains those truck-like noises coming from down by the highway...
Oops. My bad. I thought you meant 32 feet of altitude.
Never mind.
Why, when you ask people how FAR some location is away, do they tell you how many minutes it takes to get there ?
Yes. I see that in advertising, too. Maths are hard m'kay...
Trump’s ban on immigration kept it from entering the Earth’s atmosphere. s/
I need some help with the high-tech lingo – is there some speed or directional difference between “whizzing by” or simply “buzzing by” ;?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.