Posted on 02/17/2014 7:24:07 PM PST by SunkenCiv
The first of the new large near-Earth asteroid discoveries is named 2013 UQ4, and it is perhaps the most unusual. This approximately 19-kilometer (12-mile) wide object was spotted by the Catalina Sky Survey on Oct. 23 when the asteroid was 435 million kilometers (270 million miles) away from Earth. Not only is this object unusually large, it follows a very unusual highly inclined, retrograde orbit about the Sun, which means it travels around the Sun in the opposite direction of all the planets and the vast majority of asteroids.
The only objects usually found in retrograde orbits are comets, which suggests that 2013 UQ4 may be the remains of an old comet that no longer possesses the near-surface ices required for it to become active while near the Sun...
The second very large near-Earth object, named 2013 US10, was discovered on October 31 by the Catalina Sky Survey. While the reflectivity of this object has not yet been determined, and hence its diameter is still uncertain, it is also likely to be about 20 kilometers (12 miles) in size. Only three near-Earth asteroids (1036 Ganymed, 433 Eros and 3552 Don Quixote) are of comparable size or larger...
The third of the recent discoveries is the approximately two-kilometer near-Earth asteroid 2013 UP8, found on October 25 by the Pan-STARRS group in Hawaii. This asteroid can approach quite close to the Earth's orbit, within 5.5 million kilometers (3.4 million miles), which makes it a "potentially hazardous asteroid" (PHA). 2013 UP8 is in the top 5th percentile of the largest PHAs, most of which were found much earlier during NASA's asteroid survey program.
(Excerpt) Read more at neo.jpl.nasa.gov ...
Figure 2 (updated Nov 6, 2013): The orbits of 2013 UQ4, 2013 US10 and 2013 UP8 are shown as viewed from within the plane of the solar system (ecliptic plane), which makes clear their highly inclined orbits relative to Earth's orbit. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
 |
||
| · join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · subscribe · | ||
| Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar · | ||
Responding to Potential Asteroid Redirect Mission Targets
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-052
Haven’t we had enough news about Michelle?
Only 12 miles across. So small. Incredible, though that a solid rock would be 12 miles across, so large!
yeah aint so surprises with that near earth-sized object
It’s 8 times the volume of the Chicxulub impactor. :’o
“It’s 8 times the volume of the Chicxulub impactor. :’o”
You learn something new every day. Like, for me, what IS the Chicxulub impactor.
Wow!
A little film on it I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qJPTjMnwNk
Another article on the same subject:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-336
“The third of the recent discoveries is the approximately 1.2-kilometer (two-kilometer) near-Earth asteroid 2013 UP8, found on Oct. 25 by the Pan-STARRS group in Hawaii. This asteroid can approach quite close to Earth’s orbit, within 3.4 million miles (5.5 million kilometers), which makes it a “potentially hazardous asteroid” (PHA). 2013 UP8 is in the top 5th percentile of the largest PHAs, most of which were found much earlier during NASA’s asteroid survey program. Like the other new discoveries, this asteroid has gone undetected for a long time because it has not approached Earth closely for decades. But the increasingly capable NASA-supported asteroid surveys finally found this object while it was still at a large distance from Earth, well beyond the orbit of Mars.”
Perfect. Her Thighness could be the Reigning Queen of one; ship her off next week. Harry Reid could have another and be the HMFIC; go next week. Little Dick Durbin could have the other and be Little Dick in Charge; send him tomorrow. No reason to worry about Nanny; she’ll be gone soon enough.
I live on the side of a big hunk of granite in N. Idaho that is about 10 miles running south to north and about 3 miles east to west and who knows how deep it goes. It has probably never been to space but it IS part of the Kaniksu lobe of the Idaho batholith.
I would NOT want to be a resident of a planet that got hit with this rock travelling about a gazillion MPH. Unless it landed on Washington, D.C. That might be worth it.
Yikes
update:
Near-Earth Object 2013 US10 Turns Out to Be a Long-Period Comet
Don Yeomans and Paul Chodas
NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office
Updated November 6, 2013
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news181.html
While initial reports from the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge MA categorized object 2013 US10 as a very large near-Earth asteroid, new observations now indicate that it is, in fact, a long period comet, and it is now designated C/2013 US10 (Catalina). The comet was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson AZ on October 31, 2013 and linked to earlier pre-discovery Catalina observations made on September 12. The initial orbit suggested this object is a large, short period, near-Earth asteroid, as reported here yesterday. An updated orbit, issued today by the Minor Planet Center removed the September 12th observations that belong to another object and include earlier pre-discovery August and September observations made by the Catalina Sky Survey, the ISON-NM observatory in New Mexico and Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS group. The new orbit indicates that this object is in a long-period, near parabolic orbit about the sun. Furthermore, observations made last night at the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope indicate the object is showing modest cometary activity, which means that yesterday’s rough estimate for the object’s size (about 20 kilometers or 12 miles) must now be completely revised. A new size estimate is not yet available, but it could very well be much smaller than yesterday’s estimate.
Dates Of Last Observation Of Comets (more about C/2013 US10 (Catalina))
http://scully.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/lists/LastCometObs.html
At least!
(two months later) My pleasure!
(two months later) Thanks!
Sunken Civ...on same timetable as the archaeological record;)
Lol, Your welcome;)
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.
