More on Asteroid Toutatis Passing Earth Sept 29th, 2004

Space.Com ^ | Sept 28th, 2004 | Robert Britt

[RadioAstronomer]

It's comforting to know that no matter where you are, you are no more than five feet from a spider, isn't it?

ROFL! I was in my office the other day, and one just walked (ran) over the back of my hand as I was typing. Startled the cr-p out of me!

[MissAmericanPie]

I wonder what kind of damage an impact of that size would do. If there were ever an impact it most likely would hit in the Atlantic or Pacific. Lot's of dead fish, that's for sure.

[Doctor Stochastic]

He's paid for being an Astronomer. (If that's what you mean by professional.) Otherwise, it depends on what the meaning of is is.

[prairie dog]

It's comforting to know that no matter where you are, you are no more than five feet from a spider, isn't it?

We are truly fortunate that the same can't be said for buses.

[missyme]

Well he knows alot and it's interesting to know that Harvest Moons Spiders, Busses and Asteroids have usefullness in Astronomy..

[Denver Ditdat]

I am in the process of writing a book called "The Memoirs of a Rocket Scientist". :-)

Wow! Ping me when it's ready - I want a copy of the hardcover edition! I'm fascinated by the history of the space program, both ours and that of the old Soviet Union. There is plenty available about the astronauts, of course, but I want more on the science and engineering aspects. A lot more.

One of my favorite Apollo program books is Murray and Cox's "Apollo - The Race To The Moon". I'm afraid that too many tales of early NASA have already died with the old hands and not been recorded. That's unfortunate, because it's really fascinating stuff.

Another favorite: Stages To Saturn. I loaned out my hardcover copy years ago and never got it back. :-(

I'm sure you have already looked into all of this, but have you contacted Apogee Books? A book such as yours seems right up their alley.

[RadioAstronomer]

Thanks! :-) However, it will be a bit before it is even in a completed draft form.

Check this out! :-)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0813026911/qid=1096435894/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-2474500-3698356?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I also loved the HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon". Another really nifty movie was "The Dish".

I will be happy to keep you up to date on my book! :-)))

[Truth666]

Astronomers know of no such impending doom.
Wrong. One of the reasons for the Toutatis hoax is to make people believe that.

[Truth666]

Astronomers know nothing about the universe, except for a few large bodies with regular orbits. Any idiot should have understood that the latest by April 14, 2004, as comet Bradfield (diameter : 10,000 km) popped out of nowhere to become the largest body ever recorded in the inner solar system.

Transcript from http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/09/28/asteriod.fly/index.html

HOW - 1. "actually you will not be able to see it ... "

Spotting Toutatis
Toutatis will not be visible to the unaided eye. Experienced telescope users can see it now from the Southern Hemisphere, and in early October it will be visible from the north.

Finding Toutatis will be challenging, Harris said, due to a combination of the asteroid's position in the sky and interfering moonlight.

Because the asteroid is so close, its location in the sky will vary significantly for skywatchers in different places on Earth at any given moment. And because it moves quickly, the location changes constantly. Printed sky maps don't always provide enough detail to be useful.

"In a large telescope the motion would be perceptible against any stars in the field more or less in real time, sort of like watching the second hand on a clock," Harris said, adding that the movement would be "not quite that fast, but noticeable."

Highly experienced observers will use complex plotting information known as ephemeris data. Others can use software programs that generate maps for specific times and locations.

At its closest on September 29, Toutatis will be visible only to observers in the Southern Hemisphere.

Large and steady binoculars will be able to pick out the pinprick of sunlight reflecting off the asteroid, providing observers "use a good program like Starry Night Pro to plot its incredibly rapid motion across the sky," said Clay Sherrod of the Arkansas Sky Observatory. (The software company Starry Night is owned by Imaginova, parent also of SPACE.com.)

Soon thereafter, experienced backyard astronomers north of the equator will have a chance to find Toutatis.

"By early October, it will suddenly be re-emerging into northern skies as its apparent trajectory will bring it back into very favorable view," Sherrod said in an e-mail interview. But by then the asteroid will be moving away from Earth and getting dimmer. It will quickly become "very difficult" to spot even with an 8-inch telescope, he said.

HOW - 2. "... but we already saw it "

Sherrod photographed the giant space rock last week (it was visible then in the north through large telescopes) and said exposures longer than eight seconds showed a trail as the giant rock moved slightly against the background of stars.

"It has been quite a wonderful show so far," he said.

HOW / WHY - "we know all about what's going on around us - even about the weirdest, smallest body"

Asteroid Toutatis was discovered in 1989. Scientists have modeled its strange rotation and odd shape -- it looks something like a pockmarked dumbbell -- on previous flybys.

Instead of a fixed north pole, Toutatis' axis of rotation wanders in two separate cycles of 5.4 and 7.3 Earth-days. So while most asteroids rotate somewhat like a football thrown in a perfect spiral, "Toutatis tumbles like a flubbed pass," says Scott Hudson of Washington State University.

Astronomers will use this week's flyby to examine Toutatis in greater detail, with a goal of pinning down the rock's rate of spin and better estimating its future path.


WHY - "relax, nothing is going to happen here, at least in your life time"

While some rumors have suggested the asteroid's forecasted course might be off by enough to cause a collision with Earth, Sherrod agrees with Harris and other scientists that there is no chance for calamity. Sherrod has been monitoring Toutatis' movement since July 3, logging more than 500 observations that allow mapping of a precise trajectory.

"Although the actual path of it has indeed varied a slight bit from the original calculated, there is absolutely no chance of a physical encounter or impact with Earth," he said.

[Denver Ditdat]

Uh-oh, now I'm gonna spend money! One of the Amazon features that always snags me is the "Customers who bought this book also bought:" line. There is invariably something else I want there.

"From the Earth to the Moon" was fantastic. It's one of my favorite DVD sets. If all TV could be as good I'd own a television again. I'll have to pick up "The Dish", too. I've heard nothing but praise for that one.

The Spacecraft Films series is another addiction of mine. I just finished the Gemini series, and the footage of Ed White's spacewalk is stunning.

Thanks for keeping me in the loop with your book. I'm looking forward to it!

[SunkenCiv]

Oh, sure, look on the bright side. ;')

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from September 28th, 2004. Thanks missyme.

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