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Astronomers discovered something strange about 'potentially hazardous' asteroid Phaethon
Space.com ^ | By Stefanie Waldek p

Posted on 10/16/2022 2:51:43 PM PDT by BenLurkin

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To: BenLurkin

If the rotation is speeding up does that imply that its circumference is shrinking?


21 posted on 10/16/2022 4:03:10 PM PDT by clearcarbon (Fraudulent elections have consequences.)
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To: BenLurkin

An astroid with it’s own name!
A celestial body of influential proportions!


22 posted on 10/16/2022 4:12:12 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: sit-rep
Another reason I like doing my own and try to squeeze every bit of existing data out of an image. It's a real challenge. I like keeping it real.

f1500/23000

23 posted on 10/16/2022 4:19:58 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: lee martell
An asteroid with its own name!

Its human-imposed name. Who knows what Phaethon calls itself, or whether it even identifies as an asteroid. Maybe it thinks of itself as a dwarf planet. Of course it's a bit small for being a dwarf planet, but it can dream.

24 posted on 10/16/2022 4:27:58 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: dragnet2

and believe me... its 10.... 100 times more appreciated and respected!! your pic isnt crisp and clear but it shows proper perspective and its normal to the mind knowing the picture you took is of something MILLIONS of miles away on a real home telescope and amateur photography!!. it wasnt takin by a probe, then straightened out so the layers are level to the eye and then one moon added with a fake shadow and then say someone took it from a home telescope!! keep em comin!! I’d like to see some of your moon shots!! i get they are detailed enough to boast about!!

BTT!!


25 posted on 10/16/2022 4:33:02 PM PDT by sit-rep ( )
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To: sit-rep

get = bet!


26 posted on 10/16/2022 4:35:27 PM PDT by sit-rep ( )
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To: BenLurkin; farmguy; EEGator

Astronomer takes his kid to ballet class. “Your pirouette was fine, but you’re about a millisecond fast. Try to slow it down.”


27 posted on 10/16/2022 4:38:10 PM PDT by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: dragnet2

> I bet if a 3.4 mile diameter asteroid hit Washington D.C., the impact would be heard in Denver...Chandeliers rocking in Las Vegas.

And the cheering would be heard around the world.


28 posted on 10/16/2022 4:43:22 PM PDT by Flatus I. Maximus (If Black Lives Matter, how do you explain Chicago?)
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To: BenLurkin

Or it could mean that King Ghidorah is waking up again.


29 posted on 10/16/2022 4:50:31 PM PDT by Flatus I. Maximus (If Black Lives Matter, how do you explain Chicago?)
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To: EEGator

“You upset Pele by being on top of Mauna Kea”

I don’t think so, she is pretty quiet on Mauna Kea, but still active.
Kiluea, she is busy, and I expect Mauna Loa will off in my lifetime.
I assisted in engineering studies to verify TMT. I’ve been briefed on it’s design reviews. I think space telescopes are a better bet, if you are going to spend all that money. Mauna Kea is a very harsh place to operate extreme precision optics and instruments. Trying to keep starlight on a few 13 Micrometer Pixels, in 60 KPH winds, with a 30 meter mirror, for an hour will be a challenge.
Better to spend the money curing some Cancer.


30 posted on 10/16/2022 4:56:21 PM PDT by rellic
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To: rellic

I went up to the top, it was cool being above the clouds.


31 posted on 10/16/2022 4:58:09 PM PDT by EEGator
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To: EEGator

Also the place at certain times of the year, you can see the Southern Cross and still be in America.


32 posted on 10/16/2022 5:05:47 PM PDT by rellic
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To: rellic

Around June 21st?


33 posted on 10/16/2022 5:06:56 PM PDT by EEGator
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To: BenLurkin

The only thing to worry about is any changes in the predicted/observed trajectories through our solar system...

We’ll be waiting for the “bend over and kiss your butt goodby” order from the WH...


34 posted on 10/16/2022 5:15:58 PM PDT by SuperLuminal (Where is the next Sam Adams when we so desperatly need him)
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To: BenLurkin

3200 Phaethon is the progenitor of the Geminid Meteor shower.

Probably closer to a comet than an asteroid, Phaethon may simply be outgassing, which would cause a change in rotational speed.


35 posted on 10/16/2022 5:18:57 PM PDT by Conan the Librarian (Conan the Sailing Librarian)
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To: clearcarbon

> The asteroid’s rotational period is decreasing by 4 milliseconds per year.

it’s slowing down, implying some kind of angular de-acceleration or increasing in diameter. Or both.

you’d think if they could tell you how many milli-radians per year it was slowing down they could tell you how much energy it would take. The radar image showed it was slightly asymmetric about the axis of rotation. Maybe the lobe outgasses a bit around aphelion...or maybe the rubble pile is expanding?


36 posted on 10/16/2022 5:24:24 PM PDT by no-s (Jabonera, urna, jurado, cartucho ... ya sabes cómo va...)
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To: clearcarbon

ha, 3.7×10-8 rad/day squared, so it’s way less than milli-radians. Like 37 nano-radians per day squared.


37 posted on 10/16/2022 5:29:46 PM PDT by no-s (Jabonera, urna, jurado, cartucho ... ya sabes cómo va...)
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To: rellic

> I think space telescopes are a better bet, if you are going to spend all that money.

5 bucks says at the time the risk assessment and value per dollar were assessed, it wasn’t a very sure bet. But someday soon.

I kinda wonder why Arecibo hasn’t been replaced by giant phased arrays in some remote locations. Though space based phased array radio-telescopes would be groovy too.


38 posted on 10/16/2022 5:38:38 PM PDT by no-s (Jabonera, urna, jurado, cartucho ... ya sabes cómo va...)
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To: farmguy

asteroids don't concern me farmguy

39 posted on 10/16/2022 5:53:43 PM PDT by xp38
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To: no-s
...I kinda wonder why Arecibo hasn’t been replaced by giant phased arrays in some remote locations. Though space based phased array radio-telescopes would be groovy too...

That is an amazingly good question.

I paid Elon $500 for a consumer-grade phased array antenna that can track multiple satellites in LEO. I bet the amount of money a major observatory could raise would buy a gonzo phased array setup.

40 posted on 10/16/2022 5:54:01 PM PDT by CurlyDave
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