Large Asteroid to fly past Earth on Nov 8th

[dazdillinjah]

Asteroid 2005YU55 approx. 400 meters wide will pass within 1 lunar distance in November of this year

whenever I hear of these fly-bys that come within the Moons orbit I always worry of possible impacts with the Moon

http://www.space.com/11310-huge-asteroid-2005-yu55-passing-earth-november.html

[Waspie_Dwarf]

whenever I hear of these fly-bys that come within the Moons orbit I always worry of possible impacts with the Moon

Why worry? An impact with the moon would not cause any damage here on earth. It would be an amazing thing for astronomers to study

Having said that the chances of such an object hitting the moon is tiny. Firstly the moons orbit is large in relation to the size of the moon itself. The moon can be anywhere in that orbit, the chance of it being in the wrong place at the wrong time are small. Secondly the asteroid may not even be in the same plane as the moon, in other words it could be passing over or under the orbit.

Astronomers know the orbit of the asteroid and hey know the orbit of the moon, they would know LONG in advance if there was a chance of a collision.

Incidentally this topic: Asteroid passes Earth covers the last fly-by of this asteroid in April 2010.

[dazdillinjah]

Why worry? An impact with the moon would not cause any damage here on earth. It would be an amazing thing for astronomers to study

Having said that the chances of such an object hitting the moon is tiny. Firstly the moons orbit is large in relation to the size of the moon itself. The moon can be anywhere in that orbit, the chance of it being in the wrong place at the wrong time are small. Secondly the asteroid may not even be in the same plane as the moon, in other words it could be passing over or under the orbit.

Astronomers know the orbit of the asteroid and hey know the orbit of the moon, they would know LONG in advance if there was a chance of a collision.

Incidentally this topic: Asteroid passes Earth covers the last fly-by of this asteroid in April 2010.

Thank you very much for the reply Waspie ..as an amateur astronomer I have the greatest respect for you & the greastest interest in your Space & Astronomy topics ..am presently loving the reading of the updates you are providing on the Mercury mission

Im also sorry for duplicating another topic ..please feel free to merge this one into the original topic & tyvm again

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Im also sorry for duplicating another topic ..please feel free to merge this one into the original topic & tyvm again

No need to apologise, there is no way you could have known that this asteroid had already been mentioned in a thread a year old, and as that was about it's last fly-by I don't consider them duplicate threads anyway. I simply added the link for reference.

am presently loving the reading of the updates you are providing on the Mercury mission

I am loving posting them.

[Uncle Sam]

It would be amazing sight to see an asteroid impact on the moon, but I hope it is not a big impact that could damage the international space station or satellites. Of course, that impact would on generate debris that wouldn’t penetrate earth’s atmosphere. Now if the moon cracked in half, which is something that would worry me and amaze me. Such a sight would be a once a life time, but would pose a major threat to Earth if sets that chunk on a collision course that would wipe out all life. How can you stop a object half the size of the Moon? The answer is, you can’t.

[ShadowSot]

They're a pretty good distance a part, 238857 miles.

[Persia]

Mark your calendars for an impressive and upcoming flyby of an asteroid that’s one of the larger potentially perilous space rocks in the heavens – in terms of smacking the Earth in the future.

http://www.space.com/11310-huge-asteroid-2005-yu55-passing-earth-november.html

[sean6]

Asteroid 2005 YU55 to Approach Earth on November 8, 2011

ear-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 will pass within 0.85 lunar distances from the Earth on November 8, 2011. The upcoming close approach by this relatively large 400 meter-sized, C-type asteroid presents an excellent opportunity for synergistic ground-based observations including optical, near infrared and radar data. The attached animated illustration shows the Earth and moon flyby geometry for November 8th and 9th when the object will reach a visual brightness of 11th magnitude and should be easily visible to observers in the northern and southern hemispheres. The closest approach to Earth and the Moon will be respectively 0.00217 AU and 0.00160 AU on 2011 November 8 at 23:28 and November 9 at 07:13 UT.

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news171.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1383778/Asteroid-YU55-hurtling-Earth-dont-worry-scientists-say-just-miss-us.html

lets just hope it does miss us, anything can happen between then and now?

Edited May 5, 2011 by sean6

[Waspie_Dwarf]

lets just hope it does miss us, anything can happen between then and now?

Unless someone changes the laws of physics then it is highly unlikely anything will happen between then and now that will change the course of this asteroid. It's orbit has been known for quite sometime.

[sean6]

All eyes are on huge asteroid buzzing Earth on Nov. 8

Mark Nov. 8 on your calendar. A huge asteroid that could potentially threaten Earth in the far future will pass close by as astronomers around the world watch and measure.

This space rock is asteroid 2005 YU55, a veritable mini-world roughly 1,300 feet (400 meters) wide — nearly four football fields across — that will zoom by Earth inside the orbit of the moon.

At its closest approach, the asteroid will pass within 201,700 miles (325,000 kilometers) of Earth at 6:28 p.m. EDT on Nov. 8. The average distance between Earth and the moon is 240,000 miles (386,242 km).

Asteroid 2005 YU55 is set to become the object du jour for ground observers. An extensive campaign of radar, visual and infrared observations is being staged to survey this cosmic interloper.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45064085/ns/technology_and_science-space/#.TqrkbbIwOXQ

[Indiogene]

Thanx sean for informing the world on this story: I doubt of any chance the asteroid will strike any point of earth, and the size of 4 football fields means a localized area of devastation, a minimal risk of damage and death or injury. But what's important is astronomers and public officials should keep track of them and inform the public in preparedness not panic, and for emergency planning organization, the human race can survive an asteroid impact.

[Xanthurion2]

cool i hope it's visible to the naked eye because i don't have a telescope

[bison]

The asteroid will reach a brightness of 11th magnitude at its closest approach. This is, unfortunately, far too dim to see with the unaided eye. A telescope with an objective of at least 15 centimeters, or 6 inches diameter will be needed to see it. It seems remarkable that a body this small, relatively speaking, should have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape. Yet that is the apparent shape of 2005 YU55. Fortunately, all sorts of images of the object will be made when it passes, which should prove interesting to view. The object was originally thought to have a diameter of about 200 meters, based on its probable brightness. When it proved to be much darker than expected, this had to be doubled. Ross

[lostinthecrowd]

You don't worry about the moon crashing into the earth if it got hit by something big, sure we'd get some but the big thing would be the gravitational effects it would have on the earth.

[Xanthurion2]

The asteroid will reach a brightness of 11th magnitude at its closest approach. This is, unfortunately, far too dim to see with the unaided eye. A telescope with an objective of at least 15 centimeters, or 6 inches diameter will be needed to see it.

aww...i thought so

[bison]

As it turns out, the 400 meter diameter of the object was determined first, by a very low resolution (~22 by 12 pixels) radar image made by the world's largest radio/radar observatory at Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It had been assumed that the object was a better reflector of sunlight, as are most asteroids that pass near Earth. When the 400 meter size was established, the object's brightness had to be revised downward by about a factor of four. Odd for such a dark object to be found so close in. They're typically much farther out in the main asteroid belt. NASA's Deep Space Network will try for a much better radar image at closest approach. They hope for 100 by 100 pixel definition. Not exactly HD, but it will show details 4 & 1/2 smaller than the old Arecibo image. Arecibo will try for a new image, too. With the asteroid about seven times closer than in the last image, I calculate they should see ~ 150 by 150 pixel definition, which should make visible features only 3 meters (10 feet) across on the asteroid. Ross

Edited October 29, 2011 by bison

[StarGateAtlantis]

ever see those movies where an astroid hits the moon? i saw this movie once where gravity goes haywire and destroys all communications. the moon ends up coming towards closer to earth. everyone thought they had like a week left to live.

[ShadowSot]

ever see those movies where an astroid hits the moon? i saw this movie once where gravity goes haywire and destroys all communications. the moon ends up coming towards closer to earth. everyone thought they had like a week left to live.

Buh?

[psyche101]

From the Link:

Initially, the object will be too close to the sun and too faint for optical observers. But late in the day (Universal Time) on Nov. 8, the solar elongation will grow sufficiently to see it. Early on Nov. 9, the asteroid could reach about 11th magnitude for several hours before it fades as its distance rapidly increases, Benner explained.

Does anyone know the duration, and if we Aussies will get a look see?

[bison]

From the Link:

Initially, the object will be too close to the sun and too faint for optical observers. But late in the day (Universal Time) on Nov. 8, the solar elongation will grow sufficiently to see it. Early on Nov. 9, the asteroid could reach about 11th magnitude for several hours before it fades as its distance rapidly increases, Benner explained.

Does anyone know the duration, and if we Aussies will get a look see?

Psyche; Some information re: your question, from the Sydney Observatory: http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/2011/asteroid-2005-yu55-to-shoot-by-the-earth-closer-than-the-moon-on-wednesday-9-november-2011-where-and-when-can-it-be-seen-from-australia/ Edited November 1, 2011 by bison

[ohoake]

wouldn't it be cool if it smashed into the moon...

[Lysippos]

wouldn't it be cool if it smashed into the moon...

Richard Hoagland believes that it will actually hit the moon.

But don't trust that guy.

But yes it would be pretty cool.

Edited November 2, 2011 by Scepticus

[bison]

A good article on this object, from Sky and Telescope. It includes a more detailed sky chart for tracking the object, hour by hour (assuming a sufficiently large telescope is available)-- (about 15cm or 6 inches diameter objective). Also featured is the best available image, so far, made from radar scans at Arecibo Radio/Radar observatory in 2010. The latter is interesting for the overall shape, and the surface details it reveals. The object is strangely spherical. A quarter-mile-wide object shouldn't have enough gravity to pull itself into a sphere. Quite a coincidence; the largest object to pass so close to Earth in many years. It just happens, by chance, to have an impact history that managed to knock off all the rough, irregular bits that didn't conform to a spherical shape! http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/133013563.html

Edited November 2, 2011 by bison

[randym23]

Why worry? An impact with the moon would not cause any damage here on earth. It would be an amazing thing for astronomers to study

Having said that the chances of such an object hitting the moon is tiny. Firstly the moons orbit is large in relation to the size of the moon itself. The moon can be anywhere in that orbit, the chance of it being in the wrong place at the wrong time are small. Secondly the asteroid may not even be in the same plane as the moon, in other words it could be passing over or under the orbit.

Astronomers know the orbit of the asteroid and hey know the orbit of the moon, they would know LONG in advance if there was a chance of a collision.

Incidentally this topic: Asteroid passes Earth covers the last fly-by of this asteroid in April 2010.

Actually a moon impact could (if it destroys the moon or kicks it out of orbit) have devastating consequences for earth's weather. without the moon's gravity pull, the earth's rotation naturally wobbles drastically changing the weather of regions from season to season. A forest this year could be a desert next year.

Bye-bye stable food supply. A lot of people don't realize that the moon was one of the ways our species and our planet won the cosmic lottery.

[bison]

Have been reviewing the issue of the dimmest light viewable with various telescopes, under a variety of conditions. The usual figures being given out for viewing 2005 YU55 are 15 cm or 6 inches (objective). I think this may turn out to be a little too pessimistic. I have a 9 cm refractor, and given good sky conditions, will try to see the object within a few hours of closest approach; around 0330 to 0500 GMT on the 9th of November (the evening of the 8th, here in California). It should be a bit west of the square of Pegasus, and fairly conspicuous, due to its comparatively rapid motion through the stars. Of course it will only be a very dim point of light, at best, in small instruments, but it just might be visible.