Toutatis My Theory

It wont hit us get a life you doom sayers!

Errm, I heard that it will not hit earth BUT it does pose a THREAT.
Now what is meant by this is beyond me, i can only speculate.

Here's 1 reason why it poses a threat.

The asteroid is one wierd peice of rock, very unusual (why do you think it has a french name! Well it was officially named by a french man anyway. and yes i know what it was named after so i dont want any members going blah blah blah)

Now this is what the rock looks like...



As you can see this is one wierd mo-fo!

Look at its structure its kind of like a dumbell... 0--0

So if you think about the physics of this rock one could put these forces into play...

The ends of the asteroid have more mass than the middle and therfore (but with my lack of knowledge although very logical) each of the ends are pulling away from each other, and we all know what happens eventually when two forces are pulling away from each other, yes they come apart.

This is just my quick theory on what could actually happen by the way.

This could then break the asteroid in say 2-3 parts and anything that breaks away from the asteroid could easily fall towards earth.

Although this would be alot better than a 3 mile freaky rock coming stright at us its still something to worry about.

Theres also alot of other talk about this asteroid, some people say its not toutatis that we should worry about but worry about whats behind it!

Take care.

Originally posted by markjaxson


Theres also alot of other talk about this asteroid, some people say its not toutatis that we should worry about but worry about whats behind it!

I dont thing is going to hit us. If it does, well, ATS sure has been fun One question though. What is supposed to be behind it? Is it another astroid? Havent heard anything about this.

Its been tumbling like that for a looong time. Also its rotation is rather slow. My guess would be the gravity between the two sides is equal too or grater than the centripital forces on the center.

As far as I know...nothing is behind it. At least nothing we can see.

But what if toutatis has to swerve to avoid an on-coming space deer? Despite AAA advising otherwise it is all too common to see asteroids swerving to avoid a collision with space deer.

Alternatively, if the connection between the two halves of toutatis is as tenuous as the connection between a 1988 Datsun and its muffler, hitting a dark-matter speedbump at even 15 MPH would be sufficient to separate our space Datsun and it's erstwhile, quieter half.

I didn't spend the entirety of yesterday waiting in line at the DMV, honest!

Good point.

Something small but with enough mass could easily hit Toutatis and break it.

Especially all the "Space Debris" which NASA always seems to say just about anything abnormal is.

Maybe it's made of some strange elements that can influence gravity and it will tear our moon out of orbit.

Originally posted by DEEZNUTZ
Maybe it's made of some strange elements that can influence gravity and it will tear our moon out of orbit.

Please tell me thats a joke. If its not a joke...no.

Haha.

Quest, if NASA explains STS-80 as space debris, if you see the clip this thing moves left foward then right and suddenly stops then i can only imagine what the strangest asteroid ever discovered could do!

Toutatis will not break. Toutatis will not hit Earth.

There is nothing behind Toutatis.

Just enjoy the view, if you get one.

Originally posted by markjaxson
The ends of the asteroid have more mass than the middle and therfore (but with my lack of knowledge although very logical) each of the ends are pulling away from each other, and we all know what happens eventually when two forces are pulling away from each other, yes they come apart.

Not likely.

The thing is small, the "waist" is not that tiny, and there's not gravitational or tidal forces that are different on each end. It's so small that whatever tugs on one end will tug on the other. It isn't spinning fast enough to cause tidal forces to build up (and it's tiny, by the way) and split apart.

Theres also alot of other talk about this asteroid, some people say its not toutatis that we should worry about but worry about whats behind it!

What's behind it, as many have said, is "empty space"... and quite a lot of it.

it MIGHT be possible some very small chunks of rock may be "following" this asteroid but even if by some strange chance they do fall to earth, they would be too small to cause any problems. would prob just burn up in the atmosphere.

No wait, I just had another idea. An alien has just informed me via channelling (SBS for those in australia. Also should be a delayed broadcast on ABC) that there is actually a UFO following the asteroid, and it's coming to take us all to a higher plane of existence

Originally posted by LordGoofus
No wait, I just had another idea. An alien has just informed me via channelling (SBS for those in australia. Also should be a delayed broadcast on ABC) that there is actually a UFO following the asteroid, and it's coming to take us all to a higher plane of existence

The elevator up to this higher plane doesn't have a kool-aid stand by the door, does it?

Yeah, the orbital path does not intersect with Earth's. That is, of course Toutatis is diverted by something that then throws into an Earth intersecting orbit. It would need to be fairly large itself of it'll just stick to Toutatis like a bug on a windscreen.

[edit on 1-10-2004 by Der Kapitan]

Originally posted by markjaxson
Good point.

Something small but with enough mass could easily hit Toutatis and break it.

Especially all the "Space Debris" which NASA always seems to say just about anything abnormal is.

Too far away...