Posted on 07/07/2022 8:44:35 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A small asteroid the size of a bus will make an extremely close approach to Earth on Thursday (July 7), passing within just 56,000 miles (90,000 kilometers)...And just a few days ago, no one knew it was coming
The asteroid, named 2022 NF, is expected to pass safely by our planet, according to calculations by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Astronomers discovered the sneaky asteroid using data from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) — a system of cameras and telescopes based in Hawaii with the primary goal of detecting near-Earth objects, or NEOs. On July 4, researchers identified the object and calculated its approximate size and trajectory, estimating that the space rock measured between 18 and 41 feet wide (5.5 meters and 12.5 meters) at its longest dimension.
Because of its diminutive size, 2022 NF does not fit NASA's criteria for a "potentially hazardous asteroid," which generally must measure at least 460 feet (140 meters) long and pass within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth, according to Live Science's sister site Space.com. While the newly detected asteroid will sail well within that distance, it is much too small to be considered an existential threat to Earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
I’d like to see a bus driver with 12 arms.
Spaceballs!
The bus stop is down on 10th Street.
The fare is two Pop Tarts.
Friggin Ms Frizzle trying to kill off those kids again...
Mass transit or mass extinction...
IAC, we just know the gubmint would give us the truth...
I was thinking about the same thing —that if it’s a short bus maybe Biden can hop on and ride into the sunset. Or sunrise. Or ... any place but here.
Don’t look up. 😉
Oh Boy,
You nailed it!
Could we possibly be so lucky?
Maybe it will split in two right at the end with half hitting the White House and half the Capitol building. Or maybe a piece for the FBI building and a piece for Langley. So many possibilities, such a small asteroid.
Mel Brooks and
‘Space Balls!’
.
Ha,
Give Me Paw!
56,000+ miles is within the moons orbit.
will it hit the moon?
If it is, maybe NASA can try and arrange a pickup at 1600 Pennsylvania Blvd.
Real cloudy here in South Jersey. I won’t see it until it right on top of me.
"Tell them it's tiny and not to worry. I'm going home to max out the credit cards."
Yes, words mean things and GSO has a very specific meaning. It means Geostationary Orbit. A satellite in a GSO orbit stays above the same point on the Earth’s equator. It is where most of our TV satellites are and a lot of our communication satellites too. Not trying to be an ass but I am a science guy so I do try to correct (big) errors when I come across them.
We’re doomed.
56,000 miles!!?? That's inside the orbit of some important satellites.
Do you mean the Barringer Meteor Crater?
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