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Near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 [merged x6]


27vet

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Newfound space rock will buzz Earth in February, astronomers report.

Richard A. Lovett

for National Geographic News

Published May 17, 2012

A newly discovered asteroid called 2012 DA14 will pass so close to Earth in February that it might hit a communications satellite, scientists say.

"That's very unlikely, but we can't rule it out," said Paul Chodas, a planetary astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Discovered several weeks ago by astronomers at the LaSagra Observatory in Spain, the asteroid is currently "a fuzzy little blob," as seen through telescopes, said Steven Chesley, also at JPL.

Astronomers estimate that the space rock is just 150 feet (45 meters) wide. But "the orbit for 2012 DA14 is currently very Earthlike, which means it will be very close to Earth on a regular basis," Chodas said.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/05/120517-asteroid-close-earth-satellites-danger-space-science/

Edited by Waspie_Dwarf
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Hope it doesn't get close enough to hit.

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Even a small asteroid could cause a lot of misery, and because of its size we wouldn't detect it very early.

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Hope it doesn't get close enough to hit.

It's orbit is well known, there is zero chance of an impact in 2013. The chance of it impacting on 2020 are around 1 in 37 million. The chances of an impact sometime between 2020 and 2082 are 1 in 3,230.

Even a small asteroid could cause a lot of misery, and because of its size we wouldn't detect it very early.

The fact we know of this asteroid's existence so many months before closest approach shows that we can detect Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) long before impact. A recent study suggests we have found 20-30% of these objects and searches are improving that figure all the time.

Objects below about 25 metres in diameter present a negligible risk as they tend to burn up or explode in the upper atmosphere. Although larger than this, this object is too small to be considered a PHA. Should it ever hit the Earth it would cause "local" damage similar to the 1908 Tunguska event. That would still be pretty devastating should it hit a city, but as much of the planet is either covered in water or sparsely populated this scenario is unlikely.

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I'm just thinking in terms of how many months it will take to develop and build a package to destroy or divert a PHA. Do we have anything suitable right now?

Edited by 27vet
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I'm just thinking in terms of how many months it will take to develop and build a package to destroy or divert a PHA. Do we have anything suitable right now?

Not really. In fact there's a lot of debate in how exactly to deal with such an object. This is why there so much interest in missions to asteroids at the moment.

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We already know the correct way to deal with PHA's. All we need is a small triangle that shoots periods.

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The FAA (whom I work for) is announcing that we here in OKC will be participating in an "Asteroid strike drill" today... Though they don't say so, it seems like they are using the near pass of 2012 DA14 as the basis for the drill...

The premise is that the asteroid hits the Earths atmosphere and then breaks up into smaller chunks that 'pepper' the Texas, Oklahoma region... (as if tornadoes aren't bad enough.... :cry: )

While this is a cool kind of drill (IMO) ... they neglected to tell us (the 'victims') what we are supposed to do when the 'sirens go off' (or even if there will be an alarm)...

So this could get interesting... Though it will probably just be a drill for fast reaction teams...

I suppose we could just use the old "Wally Cox Disaster Plan"...

"When in Danger, Or in Doubt,

Run in Circles, Scream and Shout."

(a short 'poem' by the late great Wally Cox)

Which brings to mind the question... In the event of a 'shotgun-like' strike of this nature... what is the appropriate reaction? In the event of Tornadoes, you get below ground... In the event of fire you get the heck out of the building... Earthquakes, you get outside away from buildings (if you have time)... For a major asteroid strike, you just get some popcorn and enjoy the end of the world... What do you do for a strike by asteroid fragments?...

Edited by Taun
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@Taun Depends what size the fragments are. Make friends with someone who can get you into one of those nuke-proof silos.

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@Taun Depends what size the fragments are. Make friends with someone who can get you into one of those nuke-proof silos.

There aren't too many of them here in Oklahoma... Most of them are up north in Montana, etc...

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  • 6 months later...

On Feb. 15, near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 is predicted to pass within a mere 3.5 Earth radii from our planet, a distance that is well within the orbits of geosynchronous satellites. The asteroid is small, perhaps 45 meters across, and will be too faint to see without a telescope or good binoculars, but this won't be enough to dampen the imagination of believers conjuring nightmares of a satellite collision or worse. When nothing happens, they will warn us that things will be vastly more dire when 2012 DA14 returns in 2020.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/asteroid-2012-da14--earth-nasa-satellites_n_1538340.html

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Asteroid 2012 DA 14 comes near Earth every February. Its orbital motion appears to be approximately synchronized with that of Earth, at the present time. February 2013 appears to be the closest pass for at least several years to come. It will pass over 11 million miles from Earth in 2020, which is unremarkable.

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  • 3 weeks later...

A 57 meter large rock has its annual flyby of the earth on 15th February . Its projected orbit, according to NASA, will bring it well within the orbits of geosynchronous satellites currently orbiting our planet. NASA has indicated that there is no danger of this asteroid impacting our planet, however they have not ruled out our gravity changing the asteroids orbital pattern.

Oh, and it if did hit, we'd be talking about the energy of 2.4 Megatons.

20u51za.jpg

http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2012 DA14&orb=1

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Apparently this isnt a big deal. Not sure what they would consider a big deal. Perhaps the 2.4 megaton version of the story.

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Meh, perhaps your right..

It's a close call though, given that it comes within 0.09 LD to Earth.. I check SpaceWeather.com every day to check on sunspots and what's going on up there. Having a close call like this is kind of rare, so I find it interesting.. To be honest though, the qty of sunspots at the moment is far more interesting, and Sunspot AR1654 is a whoper!

Edited by Professor T
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Apparently this isnt a big deal. Not sure what they would consider a big deal.

They don't consider it a big deal because it ISN'T a big deal. This happens several times a year.

Professor T, your link isn't working correctly, it should be: http://ssd.jpl.nasa....2012 DA14&orb=1

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They don't consider it a big deal because it ISN'T a big deal. This happens several times a year.

Professor T, your link isn't working correctly, it should be: http://ssd.jpl.nasa....2012 DA14&orb=1

Yep, that's the one..

Nasa might not think it's a big deal, But I still think it's news worthy..

Having close enonters like this only happens once or twice a year and there's all sorts of talk about potentially plucking one out of their it's current orbit and sending it to orbit the moon.. Also given it's going to travel inside out satellite space it becomes a threat to communications..

Edited by Professor T
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From the article:

January 9, 2013SPACE - Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) 2012 DA14 has its annual flyby of the earth on February 15, 2013. Its projected orbit, according to NASA, will bring it well within the orbits of geosynchronous satellites currently orbiting our planet. NASA has indicated that there is no danger of this asteroid impacting our planet, however they have not ruled out our gravity changing the asteroids orbital pattern. NEA 2012 DA 14 was discovered on February 23, 2012 by the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca (OAM), near the Spanish city of La Sagra. According to NASA’s Near Earth Object Program, NEO, the asteroid will pass the earth at a distance of 21,000 miles, putting the asteroid’s trajectory in between the earth and the satellites orbiting our planet. Geosynchronous satellites orbiting our planet orbit at a distance of roughly 26,200 miles above the earth. Geostationary orbiting objects orbit at a distance of roughly 22,236 miles above the Earth’s equator. These objects are considered to be in High Earth Orbit (HEO). Any object in space considered to be in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is approximately 1250 miles above the equator. The term Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) refers to an orbiting object approximately 12,500 miles above the Earth’s equator, in between objects in an LEO and a HEO, geosynchronous orbit.

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/on-february-15-2013-an-asteroid-will-come-close-enough-to-earth-to-knock-satellites-out-of-orbit/

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Asteroid DA 14 has just been reported to have increased it velocity, relative to Earth, by 0.5%, from 7.78 to 7.82 kilometers per second. This is probably due to Earth's gravity causing a small change in its orbit. It was speculated that this might happen, and that it could change the distance of subsequent (annual) passes of the asteroid. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and to note if there are further increases in the asteroid's velocity. It is still over a month out from Earth.

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Wth is this stuff. Im only flipping out cause of the story I was told By me Mum of the story her mom told her bout her moms moms experience with the asteroid in the EArlys 1900's that ended up burning a forest because it was so close.. Why act so calmed?? In the beginning of the youtube video you might notice a faint who says that wasnt the moment we saw that girl.. Or we can just look at Wonderboy- by tenacious D. Say its a figment of my imagination.. But the psychological powers behind peoples minds... And where we have come to today.. NOTHING. We are fecies.. A piece of waste.. Compared to what we once were.. 10 bucks says.

My Grandma was about 2-7 yrs old when this asteroid last came by earth. Use to be a UM Moderator until she went crazy with POWAH! Or at least thats what my psychological sense says.

Edited by KainFall
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from 1.04 on the video the asteroid has a face!!

This should stir up he tinhat lot.

I am ok, I will just pop over to the BBC and shelter in the new bunker.

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from 1.04 on the video the asteroid has a face!!

This should stir up he tinhat lot.

I am ok, I will just pop over to the BBC and shelter in the new bunker.

Im sure everything can stir up many occurances.. but the asteroid still isnt really suppoesd to be a threat, other than the fact it might burn another hole in the ozone and burn a circle in the earth like the one in early 1900's... An this is supposidly the same one, but idk for sure.. cause when the computerized chickk in the video is talking bout it she studders it through... but senses of paranoia an so forth, goes the same as earth quakes, the pressured changes and shakes could and tend to affect the minds patterns causing delusion.. Such a asteroid coming real close causeing both space and earthed atmosphered waves.. Unknown what situations may be.

Edited by KainFall
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Heres another video cept an actual news cast on the situation.. Still lacks of information of the actual phenomena But HERE YEH GO!!

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