Posted on 12/23/2004 8:24:16 PM PST by hole_n_one
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Thu Dec 23, 5:40 PM ET
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By JOHN ANTCZAK, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES - There's a 1-in-300 chance that a recently discovered asteroid, believed to be about 1,300 feet long, could hit Earth in 2029, a NASA (news - web sites) scientist said Thursday, but he added that the perceived risk probably will be eliminated once astronomers get more detail about its orbit.
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There have been only a limited number of sightings of Asteroid 2004 MN4, which has been given an initial rating of 2 on the 10-point Torino Impact Hazard Scale used by astronomers to predict asteroid or comet impacts, said Donald Yeomans, manager of the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
No previously observed asteroid has been graded higher than 1.
On Friday, April 13, 2029, "we can't yet rule out an Earth impact," Yeomans said. "But the impact probability, as we call it, is 300-to-1 against an impact."
The asteroid was discovered in June and rediscovered this month.
"This is not a problem for anyone and it shouldn't be a concern to anyone, but whenever we post one of these things and ... somebody gets ahold of it, it just gets crazy," he said.
"In the unlikely event that it did hit, it would be quite serious. We're talking either a tsunami if it hit in the ocean, which would be likely, or significant ground damage," Yeomans said.
Its estimated size has been inferred from its brightness, which assumes that its reflectivity is similar to other asteroids that have been observed. At about 1,320 feet in length, it would have about 1,600 megatons of energy, Yeomans said.
Asteroid 2004 MN4 takes less than a year to go all the way around the sun and on each orbit it passes by Earth's orbit twice, Yeomans said. It is also nearly on the same plane as Earth's orbit.
The asteroid will be visible for the next several months and the NEO program has alerted its network of ground-based observers to include 2004 MN4 in their searches.
Yeomans said there have now been about 40 observations, first from the observatory at Kitt Peak, near Tucson, Ariz., and this month from Australia and New Zealand.
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On the Net:
Near-Earth Object Program: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov
Will You E-Mail Me a Double,Double, I Miss Home!.........:*(
lowered odds to 1 in 38,000
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ip?2.6e-05
Odds are now calculated at 1:45,000.
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Asteroid to Pass Near Earth Friday Night (’space rock’ named 2006 VV2)
Space.com on Yahoo | 3/30/07
Posted on 03/31/2007 12:23:41 AM EDT by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1809670/posts
Asteroid composition is determinedU.S. scientists for the first time have determined the composition of a near-Earth asteroid... called Apophis, which has a very slight possibility of someday hitting our planet. They said knowing what an asteroid is made of could be one important factor in deciding what to do about such an impending collision... On April 13, 2029, Apophis will come relatively close to Earth, missing the planet by about 22,000 miles. But when it comes by again in 2036, there is a very small possibility -- about one chance in 45,000 -- that it could be on a collision course. Apophis, containing the minerals pyroxene and olivine, is about 270 meters wide, but could devastate an area as large as France, or if it struck at sea, generate tsunamis.
United Press International
Just bumping an old topic. 2009 DD45 just missed — it is approximately the size of the object which smashed into Siberia in 1908. (whew)
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2009%20DD45;orb=1
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How close did it come?
Surprise Asteroid Makes Near-Miss of Earth (Missed by 40,000 miles)
Fox News | 3-2-09
Posted on 03/02/2009 10:10:14 AM PST by puffer
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2197381/posts
...wow, slow news day...
Besides will any of us be alive to see it then?
a bit over 40K miles, or roughly twice the distance of geostationary satellites.
Just keep The O in office and ever thing will be just fine. His "O" lyness is our only hope.
Damn.....
My favorite part is how the estimated number of unknown Earth-crossers was arbitrarily reduced by a bunch — and then up pops another one. And another one. And another one. :’)
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