Asteroid to pass close to Earth
 

Asteroid to pass close to Earth
By Eric Athas/ Daily News Correspondent
Sunday, July 2, 2006

An asteroid that could be a quarter mile wide is expected to pass Earth early tomorrow morning, and could be the largest to ever approach our planet, one scientist said.

The asteroid will be 268,624 miles away when it passes Earth -- roughly the same distance between the moon and Earth, according to Space.com.

"There's absolutely no danger, and it's nothing to worry about," said Brian Marsden, director of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, which classified the asteroid as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid." Marsden said this asteroid may be the largest ever to come this close to Earth.



The asteroid was discovered in 2004 by Lexington-based Lincoln Laboratory Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR), which used a telescope in Mexico to find the rock. LINEAR then reported the finding to Marsden.

"By the end of December 2004, we knew it would pass Earth at this time," said Marsden. "It will be important for us to observe it, so we can obtain more data and make more determinations for the future."

The asteroid, which is designated as 2004 XP14, is scheduled to pass Earth at 12:25 a.m. tomorrow, and will be most visible on the West Coast.

"This type of thing happens about every two years," said Tom Whitney, president of the Amherst Astronomy Association. Whitney said it's possible to catch a glimpse of the asteroid, but a large telescope and clear skies are needed.

"You'd have to know exactly where the asteroid is to be able to see it," he said. "It would be like trying to find someone in Times Square, if you know where that person is, you would be able to see them."

While the exact size of the rock is unknown, Space.com says scientists estimate its diameter could be anywhere between 1,345 and 3,018 feet. Astronomers will be able to obtain a more accurate measurement using radar when it passes.

While the proximity of 2004 XP14 may be historical, another asteroid scheduled to pass Earth in 2029 could come as close as 20,000 miles, said Marsden.

"We get things coming closer to us than the moon a few times a month, but not this size," said Marsden.

That's scary shit. One day we will be hit and you will never know about it, you will be bug squat.

cool.. would be cool to get a glips of it..

Uddate:

Updated:2007-02-18 18:01:41
U.N. Urged to Take On Asteroid Threat
By Irene Klotz
Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 18) - An asteroid may come uncomfortably close to Earth in 2036 and the United Nations should assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists said on Saturday.
Astronomers are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a 1 in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.

Although the odds of an impact by this particular asteroid are low, a recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking of near-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover hundreds, if not thousands of threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart said.

"It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is at risk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue," Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the earth in March 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Francisco.

Schweickart plans to present an update next week to the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop a blueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.

The Association of Space Explorers, a group of former astronauts and cosmonauts, intends to host a series of high-level workshops this year to flesh out the plan and will make a formal proposal to the U.N. in 2009, he said.

Schweickart wants to see the United Nations adopt procedures for assessing asteroid threats and deciding if and when to take action.

The favored approach to dealing with a potentially deadly space rock is to dispatch a spacecraft that would use gravity to alter the asteroid's course so it no longer threatens Earth, said astronaut Ed Lu, a veteran of the International Space Station.

I'm typing this from under my desk.

Omg ! We all gotta die !

http://www.porngreen.com/gfyshit/dontworry.jpg
I know I know, old thread.:)

I just bumped it after a search, but it's today's news from Reuters. Seems the date is getting closer.
First it was 101 years and now it's 19 years.

Interesting stuff. chance of 1 in 45.000 ? And what are they gonna do about it?

No.. a meteorite, not a shitstorm.

That sucks.......What if that thing pull us???

What? Pull us? to where? What? Huh?
Oh yeah..you're probably a sigwhore, and you've already posted in this thread..so I probably won't see a reply to my question of,

"what the fuck did you just say?".

looks like you missed the official GFY asteroid thread :(

http://www.gfy.com/showthread.php?t=...light=asteroid

One way or another.

Not really..I read yours..decided to bump the shorter version.
That was a good read:thumbsup

here goes my plan to make that thread the official thread to discuss asteroids for the next 10 years :Oh crap

That's ok we still got Bruce

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/im...is-Posters.jpg

Look on the bright side...that will hit us before .XXX will be imposed.:thumbsup

Phew!!!!

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh Have him catch Bin Laden before he goes off into this space mission. :thumbsup

old thread alert

We survived !!!!! USA # 1 !!!!!

We're not yet certain..and I don't want to think about it now.:helpme

Funny, Deep Impact was on TV lastnight.

yeah move your money to an other bank people :) if u have any...

That makes as much sense in this context as saying:

"We survived !!!!! Chipmunks without teeth are cute !!!!!"

Jesus.

actually 1:45,000 risk that's like 150 times bigger chance than the chance that a chance that your next plane will crash

from what I heard the risk of a plane crash is like 1:5,000,000 or 1:10,000,000, maybe someone could confirm it?

risk is a risk, o noes!!!!!

Maybe I get lucky and be dead by than!?

Jon Clark, thanks for your idea of "Positive Thinking"!

No problem :thumbsup

How exciting:)

government only funds 8 mil to watch the skys for these things, this is much more scary then terrorists to me .

Thank god, we don't need to worry about the epoch in 2038. :thumbsup

I'll probably be dead and buried to be able to worry about it anyways

THe doomsday clock is at five to midnight. That means everyone is guaranteed to die in 2012 unless you have a good bunker lol

shit, I forgot its the wrong forum to ask such questions

thatll be a great site

sewing seeds like this is how you build popular opinion for the weaponization of space. eat it up

Not quite time to get out the marshmellows ... but interesting