NEO passed us today: 7,500 miles close...

i didn't see this posted here yet, so i thought i'd post.
apparently a Near Earth Asteroid the size of a bus passed by us today lower in altitude than some satellites orbiting the earth.

from the Washington Post:
A newly discovered asteroid estimated about 30 feet in size and named “2011 MD” will pass by the Earth over the south Atlantic around 1 p.m. EDT today missing a direct hit by only 7500 miles. In the vastness of space of the inner the solar system, this is considered a really close call – less than about 3% of the distance between Earth and the moon and visible even with a small telescope. An even closer encounter occurred earlier this year when another small asteroid missed the earth by just 3400 miles.

news article

reply to post by zooplancton


Well I am glad they discovered it before it hit the planet!

Any word on the trajectory or if it will return years from now?

Thank you for posting. Lets hope this doesn't turn into a conversation about the "n" word now or eleneneninenen.
What would the impact have done after it passed through the atmosphere?

Does anyone know what the distance would be to pull objects into the earth.

I guess size would have to be a factor.



P.S. NIBURU NIBURU
ELENIN ELENIN!!!!

reply to post by zooplancton


You know the old saying, "Closeness only counts with Horseshoes, Hand Grenades, and Atom Bombs?"
Well I guess we can add Asteroids/Comets to the list now. The main concern earlier was that it might collide
with space junk or an active satellite. I assume the "All Clear" bell has rung?

Thank goodness for deflection and all its properties and methods.

S&F

Originally posted by AnteBellum
reply to post by zooplancton

 

Well I am glad they discovered it before it hit the planet!

Any word on the trajectory or if it will return years from now?

it wouldnt have made an ounce of difference if they hadnt found it before it hit the planet. assuming it was to hit what would you have done ?? where would you go ??

Wasnt the object only about 20m wide? Or was this a different object?

reply to post by iamhobo


What do you mean exactly? The maximum distance from Earth a heavenly body would be affected by
Earths gravity and magnetic field? If so, just consider the moon for example. Roughly 238,800 thousand miles. Because you have to remember the influence of our Sun(Sol) is far greater. In the big picture.

Also, you are right on target when considering mass into mix.

reply to post by chancemusky


yes 20m, it was completely harmless, aside from an astronomical chance of hitting a satelite.

reply to post by meatpie40


Given it's size. . . about 10 miles away!

Not like a bus sized asteroid is going to do that much damage.

agreeing with above post. the trajectory from what I read was at an angle where it would have burned up in the atmosphere.

In my opinion it should have gotten a bit more attention in the media.
also most likely would have entered over a large body of ocean water.

Originally posted by chancemusky
Wasnt the object only about 20m wide? Or was this a different object?

30m wide.
wonder what the difference of rock vs iron would be on impact?

About 30 FEET, it says in the snippet. Not 30 meters, nor even 20 meters.

A 30-foot asteroid is not that large, and (I think) probably would have burned up in the atmosphere. Not really all that scary.

In any case, I don't know how big an asteroid would justify panicking everyone. Big enough to wipe out a small island? Big enough to wipe out a tenth of the population of Earth? A third of the population? There's not a damn thing anybody could do about it....

Here's an existing thread on the subject:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

That is really cool. I wish I had known about it. I would have tried to see it!

Hmm, I wonder what kind of damage a 30 ft asteroid could do if it actually made it through our atmosphere and hit earth....

Surely, it would be pretty shredded up before it got through the atmosphere?

Originally posted by zooplancton

Originally posted by chancemusky
Wasnt the object only about 20m wide? Or was this a different object?

30m wide.
wonder what the difference of rock vs iron would be on impact?

Well, you just reminded me of an interesting online simulation from Purdue University called "Impact: Earth."
Click on the link, then you get to set all the parameters of an asteroid impact. (Size, Density, Trajectory, Velocity, Target - such as ocean, sedimentary rock, etc.)

Have fun... Impact: Earth

reply to post by new_here


OK. Here are my results:

Diameter: 30 ft.
Density: 3000kg/m^3
Angle: 52 degrees
Velocity: 19 km/s
Target: Sedimentary Rock
Distance (from impact): 2 miles

Atmospheric Entry:
The projectile begins to breakup at an altitude of 55800 meters = 183000 ft
The projectile bursts into a cloud of fragments at an altitude of 30200 meters = 99100 ft.
The residual velocity of the projectile fragments after the burst is 14.5 km/s = 8.98 miles/s.
The energy of the airburst is 9.12 x 10^13 Joules = 0.22 x 10^-1 MegaTons.
No crater is formed, although large fragments may strike the surface.

Energy:
Energy before atmospheric entry: 2.17 x 10^14 Joules = 0.52 x 10^-1 MegaTons TNT
The average interval between impacts of this size somewhere on Earth is 11.3 years

reply to post by Ex_CT2

Kewl... so, we'd have been ok unless we got hit by a fragment, eh?
I forgot to check if you chose iron for the material, and I can't see your post while I'm replying.

Originally posted by new_here
reply to post by Ex_CT2

 

Kewl... so, we'd have been ok unless we got hit by a fragment, eh?
I forgot to check if you chose iron for the material, and I can't see your post while I'm replying.

No, I chose "dense rock," because I think that's actually a lot more common. Iron tends to leave fragments buried in the earth, and sometimes they're discovered. By which I mean to say that they're more rare. When I was a young kid (early '50s) someone in my neck of the woods followed a piece of iron meteorite to the ground and retrieved it and had a little "tent show" where you could take a peek at it for a nickel. Drew a pretty good crowd, too....

Why are you guys concerned after all this is what HAARP is for. If it can cause movement is something as massive as a continental plate imagine what it's gonna do to a little ole asteroid or comet.