YU55 Tracking, YU trippin'

Disclaimer: This is not a prediction of what will happen, this is a thread about tracking YU55 and a thread to ease the fears of those suckered into believeing some of the stories out there.

Here it comes! How to track our close encounter with asteroid YU55... larger than an aircraft carrier and closer than the moon

Today's the day an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier passes by Earth within the moon's orbit - about as close as we want anything that size to get.
Scientists confidently reassure us that asteroid YU55 it will neither hit us or cause any disruption to our day. But it will nonetheless be a topic of conversation, and it's worth knowing a bit about our massive visitor to show your friends you're asteroid savvy.
Apart from the technical stuff - that YU55 is a quarter-mile wide, travelling at 30,000mph and will get within 201,700 miles of us - what is there to know, and where can it be seen as it sweeps by?

First of all, it's bad news for all but the most committed of stargazers. It will not be visible to the naked eye - even at its closest point to earth it will be about 100 times dimmer than humans can observe naturally.
If you want to catch a glimpse of the asteroid as it passes by, you'll need a telescope with an aperture of at least six inches. Furthermore, you'll want to be out of a city or away from any light pollution - and a nearly full moon will make thinks worse.
After all of that, cloud cover will obscure even bright objects in the sky.

But, if you have a good telescope and the right conditions, the next trick will be knowing where to look. The folks at Sky & Telescope magazine have published charts that show YU55's progress through the constellations. It will be travelling west to east.
Sky & Telescope's Kelly Beatty says the asteroid 'will traverse the 70° of sky eastward from Aquila to central Pegasus in just 10 hours'.

But, for those of us without a telescope, Nasa is offering two places to take a closer look - Asteroid And Comet Watch on the main NASA site (www.nasa.gov...), and Asteroid Watch on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's website (www.jpl.nasa.gov...).

If Nasa can't get a good picture or moving images of YU55, what chance do the rest of us have?
Nasa scientists will be tracking YU55 with antennas of the agency's Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California, and the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico.
Goldstone and Arecibo will bounce radio waves off the space rock, and scientists hope to obtain images as fine as about seven feet per pixel. This should reveal a wealth of detail about the asteroid's surface features, shape, dimensions and other physical properties.
For a lighthearted look at our close encounter, Facebook features countless event pages, and the asteroid even has its own Twitter account (@AsteroidYU55). Search for YU55 or #YU55 for a plethora of tweets.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk...

Meet YU55: This NASA/JPL-Caltech image shows asteroid 2005 YU55 on when it was about 860,000 miles from Earth, It will pass within 198,000 miles today


Star chart: Sky & Telescope magazine has published charts for the serious stargazer. But backyard astronomers will need clear skies and a telescope with an aperture of at least six inches

So we can't see it with the naked eye but it's going to hit Earth, hmmmm


The Facts....


The History...

YU55 and has not been this near to Earth for some 200 years. The last time an asteroid came this close to the earth, the much smaller XC15 in 1976, even Nasa missed it - so they want to be sure they have all eyes on YU55 this time.
Nasa's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer recently estimated that more than 90 per cent of the near-Earth asteroids wider than a kilometer (0.6 miles) have been identified, but that thousands of asteroids in YU55's size range still remain to be detected.

More facts.....

Still not convinced.....



So there we have it, another day in paradise well another day in space I guess is a better way to put it. All is well that ends well.

I am going to capture you YU55, don't run away from me lol

i m going to be setting up my telescope tonight around 6 pm eastern US hope I can find it

Thank you for the info and tracking links!

I think it is a good thing that people get worried about asteroids and comets. That is partly what fuels funding for programs to track and some day deflect such objects, fear. It is a healthy fear I believe.

It is not a matter of if but when, so close encounters like this add a lot of knowns to the unknowns. It is good science.

reply to post by storm2012


Somebody posted this link to watch online as it passes

events.slooh.com...

reply to post by Darkblade71


I agree there should be programs, satalites, etc.. dedicaded to tracking NEO's and there is and they say we will be fine. So people want these programs and spend tax dollars funding them but then are not going to believe them when they say that there will be no impact?? I find that odd to pay for something you don't trust in.

Does anybody know what time UK GMT its going to pass.

reply to post by tarifa37


11:00 pm UTC, I think that's the same as GMT

reply to post by tarifa37


You can find info here ..

"Latest Images of Asteroid 2005 YU55 NASA, Live Web Cast of The Flyby"

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...


Peace ..

reply to post by mileslong54


Yes well, just cause one is paranoid does not mean they are not out to get them.

I think all of the scheduled tests around the same time fuels the paranoia. And if you think about it, if something like this were to hit us, how would the worlds Gov. react? Another unknown.

A little paranoia is a good thing too.

Originally posted by mileslong54
reply to post by tarifa37

 

11:00 pm UTC, I think that's the same as GMT

Great thanks. Now I know what time to bend over and kiss... well you know what I mean

Originally posted by tarifa37

Originally posted by mileslong54
reply to post by tarifa37

 

11:00 pm UTC, I think that's the same as GMT

Great thanks. Now I know what time to bend over and kiss... well you know what I mean

Please place your arms behind your head and put your head in between your legs, proceed to kiss your a** goodbye. I always think of that when flying, yeah that's going to help a lot when the plane goes straight into the ground. It's like the old duck and cover for a nuclear attack.

How will I see it when it is said to appear between Ophiucus and Libra, between 17-19h., these are so low on the horizon, Libra specifically. Can't catch it from here.

Originally posted by storm2012
I am going to capture you YU55, don't run away from me lol

i m going to be setting up my telescope tonight around 6 pm eastern US hope I can find it

edit on 8-11-2011 by storm2012 because: (no reason given)

same here, lol glued to the doomsday timer

Supposedly 6:28 EST today. I have seen so many different times but that is the number one answer on all internet search engines. You may feel bad if you wait until 11pm to try and view it.

I am watching/listening to SLOOH although I am anxious for it to begin coverage of YU55 instead of the loop on other archived stuff.

Just like they said no impact, so what's next who's lucky charms are going to spell out the next doom date in their cereal bowl?