Posted on 02/09/2013 9:15:04 AM PST by BenLurkin
U.S. space agency Nasa has released a frightening new video showing just how close a massive asteroid will come to slamming into the Earth next week.
There are just seven days left until the 150ft-wide, 130,000 ton asteroid buzzes past our planet so close its trajectory will take it inside the orbit of communications and weather satellites.
It will be the nearest known flyby for an object of this size. But scientists promise the threatening space rock come no nearer than 17,100 miles from Earth when it zips past next Friday.
'No Earth impact is possible,' said Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object program at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
However, he added, its journey through space will bring it so close to our planet that stargazers from Eastern Europe to Australia will be able to see it with just a pair of binoculars.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Darn thing is on a trajectory right for Mecca but then veers off. Sheesh.
Any chance we can push it for a landing say at N38 53.7468 W77 2.19
And if - by some off chance - it happens to hit Earth, you can count on Democrats to do three things:
1. Blame Bush
2. Call for tighter emissions on greenhouse gasses (cause you know global warming will have caused it, right?)
3. And call for more social spending for women and children because they are always “hit hardest” in times of national tragedy.
Does this thing have any “camp followers?” Any tag alongs that might be “unexpected?”
All sorts of vivid and interesting astronomical phenomena on the slate for 2013, aren’t there?
One more near-Earth asteroid after this and two comets, one of which is projected to be as bright as the moon, visible in broad daylight.
I guess we’ll see if the ancient dread has any basis, now won’t we, lol?
Cool POV. Looks like its going to hit Antarctica. Then slips past the planet.
It sure isn't to scale.
Hurray for “unexpected”!
As if a spokesperson for a government organization would EVER tell the nation, "It's coming...it's gonna hit...we can't do anything about it...no legislation can change it...you're on you're own." LOL!!
OK. That pretty much creeped me out.
Read "Lucifer's Hammer" - all of Niven and Pournelle's fictional astrophysicists were telling the media the exact same thing.
I spent a few cycles studying this one. I understand they have high confidence level it won’t hit etc. Let’s assume they know what they are talking about. What puzzles me is they just discovered this thing last February and the orbit almost mirrors ours and comes close twice a year. How did they miss this asteroid in the past?
“And if - by some off chance - it happens to hit Earth, you can count on Democrats to do three things:
1. Blame Bush
2. Call for tighter emissions on greenhouse gasses (cause you know global warming will have caused it, right?)
3. And call for more social spending for women and children because they are always “hit hardest” in times of national tragedy.”
Okay, I’ll play.
President Bush by delaying Kyoto increased global warming. The increased warming pushed the Earth’s atmosphere up to higher elevations which impacted the asteroids close orbit bringing to land on Earth and all the destruction it caused.
Of course the dust cloud affects the young the most and their primary care takers, the women.
Ban assault asteroids!
A good year, no doubt!! Decided to get back to amateur astronomy a few months ago. What a great way to spend time with my kids.
lol@assault asteroids. Ban high capacity asteroids of 10 meters or larger!
Now I am worried....
Why Worry.
There isn’t a friggin thing we can do about it.
que sera sera
Then there is the Discovery channel video of a giant asteroid hitting the Earth, that some wit dubbed with the music Yakkity Sax. (1:53 in length)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB7IHNnyJ00
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