[Scully]

Multiple asteroid ping to those on RadioAstronomer's list

[PatrickHenry]

Nature reports it will take years before astronomers can discover the precise pathway for each asteroid but they say any which have been in Earth-crossing orbits will already have hit us.

Well, that's a comfort.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[BMCDA]

Thanks for the ping :)

[edwin hubble]

Scully,
Thanks for the ping... (and for taking weekend duty - from RadioAstronomer)

Two things I find interesting:

1. The orbital patterns of the small asteroids around the larger will allow a more precise measurement of the mass of the central body. Kepler's third law is used this way for binary stars and galaxies orbiting larger galaxies. The size estimates (and a density of ~5) give of 1.4 x 10^11 metric tons for the larger and 2.2 x 10^8 metric tons for the smaller. So we could work out a typical orbit...

2. The multiple impact craters (in proximity) on Earth are a real eye-opener. I saw Shoemaker-Lever hit Jupiter in 26+- pieces (NASA photos)... and just imagine a binary asteroid system hitting Earth.

[Harrison Bergeron]

Try here.