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Originally posted by nataylor
The chances of it hitting anything in the asteroid belt are, pardon the pun, astronomical.
Originally posted by Outlooker
The comet has to get through the asteroid belt without hitting anything before final trajectory calcs can be made, it could get a lot closer. It could hit an asteroid and change course, or fling something from the asteroid belt in our direction. We'll have to wait and see.
Originally posted by nataylor
When it was discovered, the tail was about 12 seconds of arc long, easily within the limits of the telescope.
source?
What companions? Nothing else has been identified in Elenin's orbit. If you're talking about the other numbered objects in some of the observations, those are already-identified minor planets.
Originally posted by Outlooker
it has traveling companions...
www.amication.de...
6888comete.free.fr...
From the Astronomical Telegram announcing the discovery: www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu...
Originally posted by Outlooker
Originally posted by nataylor
When it was discovered, the tail was about 12 seconds of arc long, easily within the limits of the telescope.
source?
tail
of length 10"-12"
Originally posted by nataylor
What companions? Nothing else has been identified in Elenin's orbit. If you're talking about the other numbered objects in some of the observations, those are already-identified minor planets.
Originally posted by Outlooker
it has traveling companions...
www.amication.de...
6888comete.free.fr...
Originally posted by Red Cloak
Another strange coincidence is the name of the comet. As I am sure most people know, if someone discovers a comet then the comet can get their name. Comet Elenin was supposedly discovered by Leonid Elenin.
Is it a coincidence that ELE stands for "Extinction Level Event"? Is it also a coincidence that Elenin could be seen as Elevennine (9/11 backwards)?
Or that Leonid is the name of the Leonid meteor shower?
It doesn't have an orbital period at all. That 11,830 number is from old data. The newest, most accurate orbital elements have an eccentricity greater than 1, meaning this is the first and last time Elenin will enter the inner solar system.
Originally posted by hereitcomesskippy
Ok follow me here.... The comet Elenin is supposed to have an orbital period of 11,830 years.
Actually, Elenin will be closes to Earth on October 16th.
Originally posted by hereitcomesskippy
The release date for the movie Melancholia is May 26th. "Comet" Elenin will be closest to earth on September 26th.
Originally posted by MaxBlack
Comet Elenin or whatever it is, does indeed come closest to our sun on 9-11-11.
Originally posted by MaxBlack
While all of these options have been discussed at one time or another, it is the brown dwarf star option that I believe is coming our way. If indeed this is true, then what happens on 9-11-11 is another story compared to some comet. The brown dwarf star I refer to, is by estimation, four times larger than Jupiter. This makes the object massive and this is why such an object with such a mass can create many problems for earth even if never hits earth.
.
At the time of the discovery, the comet was about 647 million km (401 million miles) from Earth. Over the past four and a half months, the comet has closed the distance to Earth's vicinity as it makes its way closer to perihelion. As of May 4, Elenin's distance is about 274 million km (170 million miles).