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Keyword: bolide

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  • Zero chance of potential city-killer asteroid 'Apophis' smashing into Earth in 2029, new study confirms

    03/08/2024 9:43:21 AM PST · by BenLurkin · 40 replies
    Live Science ^ | published 1 day ago | Harry Baker
    Computer simulations reveal that the close flyby of Apophis, the "God of Chaos" asteroid, in 2029 still poses no risk to Earth, even when a worrying, previously unrecognized factor is taken into account. There is almost zero chance that the infamous city-killer asteroid "Apophis" will hit Earth when it zips closely past our planet in 2029 — even when a previously unconsidered factor is taken into account, a new study shows. Apophis is a peanut-shaped space rock spanning around 1,100 feet (340 meters) across that was left behind by the formation of the solar system around 4.6 billion years ago....
  • The world's biggest meteor crater [ Vredefort Dome, South Africa ]

    12/06/2006 10:50:15 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 20 replies · 1,108+ views
    South Africa Info ^ | Tue, 5 Dec 2006 | Mary Alexander
    Two billion years ago a meteorite 10km in diameter hit the earth about 100km southwest of Johannesburg, creating an enormous impact crater. This area, near Vredefort in the Free State, is now known as the Vredefort Dome... The meteorite, larger than Table Mountain, caused a thousand-megaton blast of energy. The impact would have vaporised about 70 cubic kilometres of rock - and may have increased the earth's oxygen levels to a degree that made the development of multicellular life possible... The original crater, now eroded away, was probably 250 to 300 kilometres in diameter. It was larger than the Sudbury...
  • Largest asteroid ever to hit Earth was twice as big as the rock that killed off the dinosaurs

    10/11/2022 1:27:42 AM PDT · by LibWhacker · 54 replies
    LiveScience ^ | 10/5/2022 | Harry Baker
    The destructive space rock was somewhere between 12.4 and 15.5 miles wide. The largest asteroid ever to hit Earth, which slammed into the planet around 2 billion years ago, may have been even more massive than scientists previously thought. Based on the size of the Vredefort crater, the enormous impact scar left by the gargantuan space rock in what is now South Africa, researchers recently estimated that the epic impactor could have been around twice as wide as the asteroid that wiped out the nonavian dinosaurs. The Vredefort crater, which is located around 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of Johannesburg,...
  • New 'mini-moon' orbiting Earth — for now, astronomers say

    02/26/2020 4:51:58 PM PST · by ransomnote · 33 replies
    nbcnews.com ^ | Feb. 26, 2020 | Denise Chow
    A visiting mini-moon is circling Earth, according to astronomers who discovered the cosmic squatter in our planet's orbit.The tiny asteroid, dubbed 2020 CD3, was spotted by astronomers in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 15. "BIG NEWS," Kacper Wierzchos, a researcher with the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Lab, tweeted Tuesday. "Earth has a new temporarily captured object/Possible mini-moon called 2020 CD3. On the night of Feb. 15, my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Teddy Pruyne and I found a 20th magnitude object."Wierzchos said that the object measures about 6 feet to 11 feet across and that...
  • Following Impact: The Collapse of the Crater Alamo Impact Crater Formation

    01/30/2019 7:30:18 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 22 replies
    Idaho Museum of Natural History ^ | prior to 2019 | some real brainiacs!
    Normal faults are generated throughout the crater from the impact force. Fault blocks form along the crater walls, breaking off and sliding back into the crater following impact. Rocks around the crater rim fill in much of the crater as it collapses. Furthermore, resurge waves deposit large amounts of rock fragments in and around the crater. It is common for the crater to almost completely refill and subsequently be buried[.]
  • Meteor (?) over (San Francisco) Bay Area on Dec 19, 2018 around 5.35 pm

    12/19/2018 8:02:13 PM PST · by ProtectOurFreedom · 55 replies
    YouTube ^ | 12/19/18 | aririn (YouTube poster)
    YouTube Video of Dashcam YT Commenter Thomas Bunce: "The Geminid meteor shower peak was a few days ago and this is probably one of them based on it coming from the east. The early evening sunlight really lights it up well. Since it was seen all over CA it was up high to be that visible, again indicating a meteor. Nice Catch!" Also a Reddit thread by u/sweeteleven: Anyone know what this white flare is?
  • Photographer Caught Stunning Meteor Instead of Spooky Asteroid

    11/08/2015 7:45:00 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 21 replies
    Gizmodo ^ | November 02, 2015 | Attila Nagy [Photo: Peter Komka/MTI]
    Hungarian photographer Péter Komka wanted to capture the Halloween asteroid that looked like a skull, as it made its closest approach to Earth. What he got instead was a striking image of a meteor streaking across the sky. Komka set up his camera gear on an equatorial mounted tripod near the medieval castle of Salgó, and took several long exposure shot of the night sky, hoping to get some good enough image of the 2015 TB145 asteroid. Sadly the spooky space rock was too faint and did not appear in his photos. But what he finally captured in one photo...
  • Double Whammy: 2 Meteors Hit Ancient Earth At The Same Time

    09/15/2015 9:53:39 AM PDT · by blam · 37 replies
    Fox News - Live Science ^ | 9-15-2015 | Elizabeth Palermo
    Elizabeth Palermo September 15, 2015An artist's depiction of the dual meteor strike. (Don Dixon/Erik Sturkell/University of Gothenburg) It's not altogether uncommon to hear about double rainbows, but what about a double meteor strike? It's a rare event, but researchers in Sweden recently found evidence that two meteors smacked into Earth at the same time, about 458 million years ago. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg uncovered two craters in the county of Jämtland in central Sweden. The meteors that formed the craters landed just a few miles from each other at the same moment, according to Erik Sturkell, a professor...
  • Asteroid threat in 2032? Don't panic, but don't brush it off

    02/09/2014 3:40:37 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 46 replies
    NBC News ^ | February 3rd 2014 | Alan Boyle
    A big asteroid sailed past Earth last month, and astronomers haven't yet totally excluded the possibility that it'll hit us when it comes around in 2032. If the past is any guide, we won't have to worry about asteroid 2013 TV135 — but it's a reminder that we'll have to fend off a killer space rock one of these days. Ukrainian astronomers discovered 2013 TV135 just 10 days ago, well after the asteroid had its close encounter with Earth on Sept. 16. Actually, it wasn't all that close: The distance was 4.2 million miles (6.7 million kilometers), or about 17...
  • Jupiter Has Taken a Massive Meteor Hit (So Earth Didn’t Have To)

    09/12/2012 2:41:21 PM PDT · by LibWhacker · 47 replies
    Gizmodo ^ | 9/12/12 | Jamie Condliffe
    On Monday, Jupiter took a massive hit from a meteor, which was spotted by amateur astronomers based in the US—and if previous evidence is anything to go by, it could have saved Earth from a massive collision in the process. Dan Peterson of Racine, Wisconsin, was gazing at Jupiter on Monday when he saw a bright, white flash on the surface of the planet. When he posted his observation online, another astrophotographer, George Hall, discovered he'd unknowingly captured the massive explosion on video. Turns out it was probably a meteor striking the surface of the planet—and you can watch the...
  • Space news: Fireballs light up Jupiter

    09/13/2010 9:38:58 AM PDT · by granite · 22 replies · 1+ views
    Lake County News ^ | Sunday, 12 September 2010 | Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
    A color composite image of the June 3, 2010, Jupiter impact flash. Credit: Anthony Wesley observing from Broken Hill, Australia. In a paper published Thursday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, a group of professional and amateur astronomers announced that Jupiter is getting hit surprisingly often by small asteroids, lighting up the giant planet's atmosphere with frequent fireballs. "Jupiter is a big gravitational vacuum cleaner," said co-author and JPL astronomer Glenn Orton. "It is clear now that relatively small objects left over from the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago still hit Jupiter frequently." The impacts are...
  • Hubble Space Telescope Captures Rare Jupiter Collision

    06/06/2010 4:09:09 AM PDT · by jmcenanly · 16 replies · 1,672+ views
    NASA | 06.03.10
    Without warning, a mystery object struck Jupiter on July 19, 2009, leaving a dark bruise the size of the Pacific Ocean. The spot first caught the eye of an amateur astronomer in Australia, and soon, observatories around the world, including NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, were zeroing in on the unexpected blemish. Astronomers had witnessed this kind of cosmic event before. Similar scars had been left behind during the course of a week in July 1994, when more than 20 pieces of Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere. The 2009 impact occurred during the same week, 15 years later....
  • Anthony Wesley records another impact on Jupiter!

    06/03/2010 7:11:22 PM PDT · by Yossarian · 19 replies · 761+ views
    Ice in Space (Australian Amateur Astronomy) ^ | 6/3/2010 | Anthony Wesley, by way of Mike Salway
    In breaking news, Anthony Wesley reports another impact on Jupiter, this morning. In his words: ".. at approximately 20:30utc this morning I recorded a large fireball on Jupiter, it lasted a couple of seconds and was very bright.This was a large fireball, but it doesn't seem to have left any mark, probably all gone in the upper atmosphere before it reached the clouds."His preliminary image (a raw frame from the video) is shown below. The fireball can be seen in the upper left of frame. A video and more details will follow soon.Stay tuned to IceInSpace for more, and for...
  • Third Jupiter Fireball Spotted——Sky-Watching Army Needed?

    08/25/2010 9:30:12 AM PDT · by LibWhacker · 27 replies
    National Geographic ^ | 8/24/10 | Andrew Fazekas
    Amateur sightings prompt call for a network of backyard astronomers.On August 20, for the third time in about a year, amateur astronomers spotted a fireball above Jupiter's atmosphere. The discovery suggests the planet gets walloped more often than previously thought, say astronomers, some of whom are calling for a global "volunteer army" of backyard Jupiter watchers. The recent flash follows on the heels of July 2009 and June 2010 fireballs over the gas giant planet. (See "Bright Fireball Slams Into Jupiter" [June 2010] and "Jupiter Impact Creates Huge New Spot" [July 2009].) Astronomers speculate that the August 20 flash was...
  • "Asteroid Impacts are the Biggest Threat to Advanced Life in the Milky Way" -Stephen Hawking

    09/26/2009 9:43:01 PM PDT · by LibWhacker · 25 replies · 1,597+ views
    Daily Galaxy ^ | 9/26/09 | Stephen Hawking
    Stephen Hawking believes that one of the major factors in the possible scarcity of intelligent life in our galaxy is the high probability of an asteroid or comet colliding with inhabited planets. We have observed, Hawking points out in Life in the Universe, the collision of a comet, Schumacher-Levi, with Jupiter (below), which produced a series of enormous fireballs, plumes many thousands of kilometers high, hot "bubbles" of gas in the atmosphere, and large dark "scars" on the atmosphere which had lifetimes on the order of weeks. It is thought the collision of a rather smaller body with the Earth,...
  • Craters on Vesta and Ceres could hold key to Jupiter’s age

    09/19/2009 4:03:05 PM PDT · by Fred Nerks · 15 replies · 772+ views
    SCIENCE CENTRIC ^ | 14 September 2009 00:02 GMT | by Anita Heward
    Crater patterns on Vesta and Ceres could help pinpoint when Jupiter began to form during the evolution of the early Solar System. A study modelling the cratering history of the largest two objects in the asteroid belt, which are believed to be among the oldest in the Solar System, indicates that the type and distribution of craters would show marked changes at different stages of Jupiter’s development. Results will be presented by Dr Diego Turrini at the European Planetary Science Congress in Potsdam, Germany, on Monday 14 September. The study, carried out by scientists at the Italian National Institute for...
  • Hubble pictures Jupiter's 'scar'

    07/26/2009 5:15:10 PM PDT · by JoeProBono · 23 replies · 624+ views
    Hubble has trained its new camera on the atmospheric disturbance on Jupiter believed to have been caused by a comet or asteroid impact. The telescope used the Wide Field Camera 3 fitted on the recent shuttle servicing mission to capture ultra-sharp visible-light images of the scar. The dark spot near the gas giant's southern pole was noticed first by an amateur Australian astronomer.
  • Jupiter Struck by Object, NASA Images Confirm

    07/21/2009 6:07:43 AM PDT · by Red in Blue PA · 105 replies · 2,483+ views
    Foxnews ^ | 7/21/2009 | Staff
    PASADENA, California — A large comet or asteroid has slammed into Jupiter, creating an impact site the size of Earth, pictures by an Australian amateur astronomer show. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed the discovery using its large infrared telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii, said computer programer Anthony Wesley, 44, who discovered the impact zone while stargazing at home. News of Wesley's find on a backyard 14.5-inch reflecting telescope has stunned the astronomy world, with scientists saying the impact will last only days more. Wesley said it took him 30 minutes to realize a dark spot rotating...
  • Rethinking Jupiter

    11/12/2007 9:59:25 AM PST · by SunkenCiv · 23 replies · 94+ views
    Astrobio.net ^ | Monday, November 12, 2007 | Lee Pullen
    Without Jupiter acting as a "cosmic vacuum cleaner" sucking up these dangerous objects, there would be so many catastrophic impacts that life probably wouldn't have evolved on the Earth and we wouldn't be here today... "This vacuum cleaner idea goes back to when the long-period comets coming in from the Oort Cloud were viewed as being the only significant impact risk," says Horner. "In the 1950s there were only one or two near-Earth asteroids known, so they were viewed as oddities." ...Since the 1950s, scientists have discovered more objects in the solar system, and they say many of them could...
  • Jupiter Increases Risk Of Comet Strike On Earth

    08/24/2007 1:21:38 PM PDT · by blam · 84 replies · 1,235+ views
    New Scientist ^ | 8-24-2007 | David Shiga
    Jupiter increases risk of comet strike on Earth 11:53 24 August 2007 NewScientist.com news service David Shiga Earth experienced an especially heavy bombardment of asteroids and comets early in the solar system's history (Illustration: Julian Baum) Contrary to prevailing wisdom, Jupiter does not protect Earth from comet strikes. In fact, Earth would suffer fewer impacts without the influence of Jupiter's gravity, a new study says. It could have implications for determining which solar systems are most hospitable to life. A 1994 study showed that replacing Jupiter with a much smaller planet like Uranus or Neptune would lead to 1000 times...