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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Asteroids in the Distance
APOD.NASA.gov ^ | 31 Jan, 2021 | Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble; R. Evans & K. Stapelfeldt (JPL)

Posted on 01/31/2021 3:02:59 PM PST by MtnClimber

Explanation: Rocks from space hit Earth every day. The larger the rock, though, the less often Earth is struck. Many kilograms of space dust pitter to Earth daily. Larger bits appear initially as a bright meteor. Baseball-sized rocks and ice-balls streak through our atmosphere daily, most evaporating quickly to nothing. Significant threats do exist for rocks near 100 meters in diameter, which strike the Earth roughly every 1000 years. An object this size could cause significant tsunamis were it to strike an ocean, potentially devastating even distant shores. A collision with a massive asteroid, over 1 km across, is more rare, occurring typically millions of years apart, but could have truly global consequences. Many asteroids remain undiscovered. In the featured image, one such asteroid -- shown by the long blue streak -- was found by chance in 1998 by the Hubble Space Telescope. A collision with a large asteroid would not affect Earth's orbit so much as raise dust that would affect Earth's climate. One likely result is a global extinction of many species of life, possibly dwarfing the ongoing extinction occurring now.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: nasa
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then zoom by moving the magnifying glass over an area and then clicking. The side bars will move the zoomed area over the photograph.

1 posted on 01/31/2021 3:03:00 PM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 01/31/2021 3:03:18 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; America_Right; Art in Idaho; AZ .44 MAG; ...
Pinging the APOD list.

๐Ÿช ๐ŸŒŸ ๐ŸŒŒ


3 posted on 01/31/2021 3:03:48 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

In the middle of season 5 of โ€œ the Expanseโ€.

Big Rocks Bad.


4 posted on 01/31/2021 3:11:32 PM PST by Vaquero ( Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you. )
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To: MtnClimber

It seems to describe an asteroid or comet in the book of Revelation. There are comets that are composed of cyanide and the rock described in the revelation is supposed to poison the waters of the Earth.


5 posted on 01/31/2021 3:20:03 PM PST by HighSierra5
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To: MtnClimber

Do you have Asteroids?

No, but my Dad does....................


6 posted on 02/01/2021 5:23:21 AM PST by Red Badger (TREASON is the REASON for the SLEAZIN'.................................)
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