Near-Earth asteroid 'very unlikely' to hit us

[UM-Bot]

Astronomers have moved to allay concerns over the possibility of an asteroid collision early next week.

At approximately 100ft in diameter, asteroid 2013 TX68 is slightly larger than the rock that exploded over Chelyabinsk back in 2013 which damaged hundreds of buildings and injured 1,500 people.

Read More: http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/292212/near-earth-asteroid-very-unlikely-to-hit

[Lilly]

Unlikely to hit us...but here's betting some folks will tout this as being 'the end of the world' (again).

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Unlikely to hit us...but here's betting some folks will tout this as being 'the end of the world' (again).

Unlikely to hit us is a bit of scaremongering anyway. NASA and ESA have ruled out any chance of an impact not just for this encounter but at any time in the next century:

CNEOS's new prediction for 2013 TX68 is that it will fly by roughly 3 million miles (5 million kilometers) from our planet. There is still a chance that it could pass closer, but certainly no closer than 15,000 miles (24,000 kilometers) above Earth's surface. The new observations also better constrain the path of 2013 TX68 in future years; CNEOS has determined that 2013 TX68 cannot impact Earth over the next century.

"There is no concern whatsoever regarding this asteroid - unless you were interested in seeing it with a telescope," said Chodas.

Source: NASA/JPL

[McFakename]

" Fortunately though this latest space rock does not appear on NASA's list of potentially dangerous asteroids"

Umm... anybody know how many are on the list?

[Kiltedmusician]

So that works out to as little as 22,300 miles away up to 955,000 miles away. It's like standing down range and being fired at by a very inaccurate rifle and scientists tell you it will either hit that target over there about 20' away or you'll feel it buzz past your head. Unless it's a bigger bullet than we think it is, but we don't think it is. We'll see when it gets closer.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Kiltedmusician

[preacherman76]

So that works out to as little as 22,300 miles away up to 955,000 miles away. It's like standing down range and being fired at by a very inaccurate rifle and scientists tell you it will either hit that target over there about 20' away or you'll feel it buzz past your head. Unless it's a bigger bullet than we think it is, but we don't think it is. We'll see when it gets closer.

And that's admitted to be highly uncertain. And never before seen, they don't even know what day its coming. They usually have it pegged to within seconds, to a couple hours.

[Calibeliever]

So that works out to as little as 22,300 miles away up to 955,000 miles away. It's like standing down range and being fired at by a very inaccurate rifle and scientists tell you it will either hit that target over there about 20' away or you'll feel it buzz past your head. Unless it's a bigger bullet than we think it is, but we don't think it is. We'll see when it gets closer.

Yes, the high margin for error is disconcerting. It just goes to show how much more we need to start investing in our detection and tracking efforts. As things stand now, the day will come when we are caught completely by surprise and there will be little we can do about it.

[Nzo]

I am going to blow all your minds... I am going to predict the future...

In the next 6 months, there will be evidence to show that

Near-Earth asteroid 'very likely' to hit us

Edited March 3, 2016 by Nzo

[Gary Meadows]

I am going to blow all your minds... I am going to predict the future...

In the next 6 months, there will be evidence to show that

Near-Earth asteroid 'very likely' to hit us

Nope.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

And that's admitted to be highly uncertain.

You are misunderstanding the uncertainty levels involved here.

The asteroid will pass no closer than 15,000 miles and no further than 9 million miles from Earth. These figures ARE certain. It is where BETWEEN those distances it will pass that is uncertain.

It is absolutely certain that this object will not hit the Earth.

And never before seen,

Not true. It was first observed in 2013 (hence the fact it is called 2013 TX68 - the first four digits in an asteroid's designation are the year of discovery).

they don't even know what day its coming.

Once again, not true. It's orbital parameters have been refined so that they now know it will make it's closest pass on 8^th March.

They usually have it pegged to within seconds, to a couple hours.

Not always true. How precisely the orbit of an asteroid can be determined depends on the quality of observations of previous orbits. It is not uncommon, particularly with small, dim asteroids, to have a high degree of uncertainty in there orbital parameters. Indeed asteroids can go missing for long periods of time.

See here:

Near-Earth asteroid 'Moby Dick' goes missing

and here:

Lost asteroid rediscovered

[Ashyne]

Looking forward to it hitting our planet.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Looking forward to it hitting our planet.

You are going to have a long wait, it will nit be hitting the planet any time in the next century,

[+Noteverythingisaconspiracy]

Looking forward to it hitting our planet.

What a weird thing to look forward to.

[Absinthe]

Ho Hum!

Edited March 5, 2016 by Absinthe