Asteroid 2012 tc4. Thursday Oct. 11 th. only 59,000 miles from earth,

reply to post by Lucid Lunacy


Distance from Earth is only part of the equation. Many asteroids skim Earths atmosphere without being pulled in. Angle of approach, velocity, relation to Earths direction of travel and other factors influence impact probability.

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by timetothink

 

As more observations are made the close approach distance is refined. It has remained within the margin of error since the first few observations.

FYI, MOID is not the close approach distance.
Closest approach is now calculated to be 58,996 miles with a maximum of 59,029 and a minimum of 58,962. That's a pretty narrow margin of error.

edit on 10/11/2012 by Phage because: (no reason given)

Thanks for the info...on a lighter note, I read "That's a pretty narrow margin of error" as " That's a pretty narrow margin of "terror." That gave me a chuckle...I guess sometimes we really do see ONLY what we want to see!

It's 21 meters across. That is about 65-70 feet. That is not quite a 10 story building (maybe 6). I'm sure it would leave a nice crater if it did impact but definitely not a cataclysmic event.

It's nearest approach is .2 LD (LD = lunar distance = average 239,000 miles +/-) which is actually about 47,800 miles on this event. LD is variable so...don't hold me to that.

It's too small though, I doubt gravity will have much of an effect on it at that size and distance.

Not an expert though...I think we have a resident expert on these things...

What kind of damage would be done if a 7 - 10 story Asteriod hit the earth?

Also, do you know what country(s) it will be over when passing by?

reply to post by KnightFire


Still haven't found that answer, but Astro Bob has an update this morning:

Duck! Asteroid 2012 TC4 to fly by Earth tonight

An asteroid the size of my front yard will zoom by 59,650 miles from, well, my front yard tonight. At average walking speed, you could step from one end of this boulder to the other in just 13 seconds.

No one’s in danger from this midget asteroid because it’s much too far away to trouble the lumbering Earth. If anything, our planet’s gravity will likely bend and alter 2012 TC4′s path during closest approach. That happens at 12:31 a.m. (CDT) tomorrow morning Oct. 12

astrobob.areavoices.com...

www.slooh.com...

ok good luck

nice find ill definitly be watching hope its not nibiru. oh wait thats in DECEMBER lol

why do we just find out about these things at the last second? what if this would have been on a clear path toward earth and we just found out. wtf is our goverment really doing? this is bs

Originally posted by pac221211
why do we just find out about these things at the last second? what if this would have been on a clear path toward earth and we just found out. wtf is our goverment really doing? this is bs

You could try this page of links for that info, you might even be able to help.

neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

Info about this rock was posted in the thread about 2012TV. which was also close...ish.


www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by pac221211

why do we just find out about these things at the last second?

Because they are small and space is big. They are hard to see.

reply to post by timetothink

Discovered by Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii on October 4th, 2012, Asteroid 2012 TC4 will make its close approach to Earth this week.

So 8 days notice effectively. I appreciate space is a large area, but if this was to hit the earth, I would imagine it would cause quite a bit of damage?

This demonstrates how vunerable we are and that's frightening, very frightening!!

Wait so let me get this straight, the post a few up says that it will be passing tonight at 12:30 am? Yet the Op says 4:30 pm here in the mid west? Which one is it? And if it is at night and if it was clear then we could potentially see it w/ the naked eye like a falling star?

If it is only moving at 4 miles per hour it will move slowly like a satellite?

Help me understand. I am so tired.

Originally posted by antar

If it is only moving at 4 miles per hour it will move slowly like a satellite?

Its moving at 4 miles per second . Not hour. Though I don't know how fast it will appear to move. That is based on a number of factors.

reply to post by pac221211


It's Nibiru shape-shifted to LOOK like an asteroid it's the truth I swear!

NASA needs to get one of these in Earth's Orbit so we can mine the crap out of them! lol...

reply to post by pac221211




So if niribu is real...don't expect any warning.....

reply to post by antar


Slooh is starting their program at 5:30est......I believe closest approach is 12:30ish.

Unfortunately, not visible to naked eye.....

Unless they are wrong and it heads straight for us......



m.youtube.com...#/watch?v=J8IWYca-qzM&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJ8IWYca-qzM



I cannot embed a YouTube vid on this iPad! Whyyyyyyy?

I finally found what I have been looking for , for a while.
The closest ever recorded near grazing of an asteroid:

On March 18, 2004, LINEAR announced a 30-meter asteroid, 2004 FH, which would pass the Earth that day at only 42,600 km (26,500 mi), about one-tenth the distance to the Moon, and the closest miss ever noticed. They estimated that similar-sized asteroids come as close about every two years.

Near Earth Object

So this one is double the distance from that one at least. Makes me feel a little better

reply to post by Darkblade71

I think there was just one "known" closer pass. From your link...

On August 10, 1972 a meteor that became known as The Great Daylight 1972 Fireball was witnessed by many people moving north over the Rocky Mountains from the U.S. Southwest to Canada. It was an Earth-grazing meteoroid that passed within 57 kilometers (about 34 miles) of the Earth's surface. It was filmed by a tourist at the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming with an 8-millimeter color movie camera.

I remember seeing a video I believe from either the 1960's or 1970's showing either a small asteroid or an extremely large meteor skimming through the Earth's atmosphere shown on video during the daytime. It did not hit. I believe that object had to be closer than the distances mentioned here. Of course back then no one would have even known about it if someone hadn't caught it on video.

Ahh, someone found the video and beat me to it. Good job.

I remember a different video so it makes me wonder if more than one person filmed the same object or if there were two different objects.

reply to post by intrptr


Yikes...that's way to close for comfort.

I stand corrected!