Can someone please ID this incoming object

Hi all,

I've asked before but no answer...

Can someone PLEASE confirm the name of the incoming object as indicated at:

sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov...

This is a 360 degree view of SOHO (1.5 million km's from Earth) in the L1.

The object is getting brighter by the day.

Cheers

JS

At first glance i thought it was an old SOHO image from the zetatalk days when that website had a lot of hype, but check out the date, its from july/aug,
now that makes it interesting.. what part of the sky is L1?
doesn't SOHO use some other type of vision other than visible light.. otherwise i'd check it out with my telescope (if it was in the northern hemisphere)

Originally posted by jumpspace
Hi all,

I've asked before but no answer...

Can someone PLEASE confirm the name of the incoming object as indicated at:

sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov...

This is a 360 degree view of SOHO (1.5 million km's from Earth) in the L1.

The object is getting brighter by the day.

Cheers

JS

Hi, JS:

No, I don't know, but I'll look around and get back to you.

Tiza

neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

Toutatis
Sept. 29
4 LD
9 mag

www.spaceweather.com...


I think I have answered this before.

Okay, call me stupid but is it remaining fairly stationary in the sky? does that denote it is coming straight at us, or will pass very near? I'm not too knowledgeable on such things.

ok this satellite is sitting at the L1 lagrangian point, so it looks like its coming toward the satellite but not us. According to SpittingCobra's post it's the Toutatis asteroid and will come within 1,537,604 km of our planet. heh. i thought SOHO watched the sun?

If the distance is just right--about 4 times the distance to the Moon or 1/100 the distance to the Sun--the spacecraft, too, will need just one year to go around the Sun, and will keep its position between the Sun and the Earth. That position is the Lagrangian Point L1, ...

www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov...

Is Toutatis close enough right now to appear that large?

Tiza

SpittinCobra:

Thanks for the info, but it can't be Toutatis.

Toutatis is on the other side of earth.

SWAN/SOHO is located 1.5 million km's from earth - in the direction of the Sun - on the L1...so the object is somewhere around 1.5 million km's (plus or minus a few hundred thousand) from earth.

Cheers to others for any other info as well.


JS

Hi, Jumpspace:

Is there a place where we can contact someone there to ask them?

Thanks,
Tiza

Tiza:

I'm talking with someone connected to NRL now...waiting for a reply.

It has been mentioned that there are two objects:

C/2003 K4 being the brightest

and somewhere in the SWAN/SOHO animation, there is also C/2001 Q4, however when you look at the orbit diagrams, located at:

neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

they are way too far away from SWAN/SOHO to be detected. SWAN/SOHO is located 1.5 million clicks away from earth, as indicated:

map.gsfc.nasa.gov...
sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov...

Cheers

JS

Good, Jumpspace. Please let us know what you find out.
Thanks,
Tisa

Whoa check this out Asteroid 4179 Toutatis (1989 AC) comes within 0.22 AU on November 3rd and 0.4 AU on December 14th and right now its 276 AU and the next couple of weeks its going to get closer and closer then back off abit then it gets close on these dates i mention....is this the object do you think?

Originally posted by markjaxson
Whoa check this out Asteroid 4179 Toutatis (1989 AC) comes within 0.22 AU on November 3rd and 0.4 AU on December 14th and right now its 276 AU and the next couple of weeks its going to get closer and closer then back off abit then it gets close on these dates i mention....is this the object do you think?

Mark,
I think that Jumpspace said that it's on the other side of earth right now or something, so this isn't Toutatis. I also think that Toutatis is supposed to be the closest on Sept. 29th, 2004, but it could have changed. I haven't checked it in a while now.

Tiza

Please check this link out. It's talking about some object that came close. I don't think it's close now. www.hohmanntransfer.com...

This might be a good place to watch for objects.

Tiza