NASA Estimates 4,700 'Potentially Hazardous' Asteroids

CNN ... NASA Estimates 4,700 'Potentially Hazardous' Asteroids

CNN) -- About 4,700 asteroids are close enough and big enough to pose a risk to Earth, NASA estimated Wednesday after studying data beamed back from an orbiting telescope.

The figure -- give or take 1,500 -- is how many space rocks bigger than 100 meters (330 feet) across are believed to come within 5 million miles (8 million km) of Earth, or about 20 times farther away than the moon.

"It's not something that people should panic about," said Amy Mainzer, an astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. "However, we are paying attention to the issue."

"Paying attention to the issue". Okay. So in other words, they are aware of it but they are doing nothing about it. I don't blame NASA. They have had their funding cut way back so they can't do anything really except look at it and say 'yep... here comes a big rock'. I would think our money would be better spent on space research and science rather than some of the other mega-wastes that Washington is doing with our money. (like all that international 'aid' and country building).

I thought it was common knowledge that their were that much 'potentially hazardous' asteroids floating around in space??

SnF tho!!

reply to post by FlyersFan


I saw that yesterday on "Outfront" on CNN.

The reporter Erin Burnett couldn't stop laughing at the "give or take 1500" bit.


As far as NASA doing nothing about them, what could they do?

Funding, technology, and an actual settled upon plan are all lacking right now.

btw: Spaceweather.com still has their number at 1293 potentially hazardous objects.

reply to post by scoobyrob


Yep ... common knowledge that there are a bunch. This is the latest info from NASA. They released it just this week. It's actually a smaller number than they had originally estimated. But it's still a big number. Being 'latest info" .. I went ahead and posted it. (along with my comment about money being better spent on science than on sending it overseas)

LOL I'm more concerned about the one that's either due to pass us OR hit us in 2036.... Seems NASA and the Russians can't decide on which! ... RTs little clips of it hitting Earth with a caption saying "Is it too late?" Isn't very reassuring lol... Let's hope their just jesting with us... If not...

GULP!

reply to post by FlyersFan

"Paying attention to the issue". Okay. So in other words, they are aware of it but they are doing nothing about it. I don't blame NASA. They have had their funding cut way back so they can't do anything really except look at it and say 'yep... here comes a big rock'. I would think our money would be better spent on space research and science rather than some of the other mega-wastes that Washington is doing with our money. (like all that international 'aid' and country building).

They had thier funding cut ? Right ? 2+2 = 4 At least when I went to school.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
CNN ... NASA Estimates 4,700 'Potentially Hazardous' Asteroids

CNN) -- About 4,700 asteroids are close enough and big enough to pose a risk to Earth, NASA estimated Wednesday after studying data beamed back from an orbiting telescope.

The figure -- give or take 1,500 -- is how many space rocks bigger than 100 meters (330 feet) across are believed to come within 5 million miles (8 million km) of Earth, or about 20 times farther away than the moon.

"It's not something that people should panic about," said Amy Mainzer, an astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. "However, we are paying attention to the issue."

"Paying attention to the issue". Okay. So in other words, they are aware of it but they are doing nothing about it. I don't blame NASA. They have had their funding cut way back so they can't do anything really except look at it and say 'yep... here comes a big rock'. I would think our money would be better spent on space research and science rather than some of the other mega-wastes that Washington is doing with our money. (like all that international 'aid' and country building).

edit on 5/18/2012 by FlyersFan because: fixed link

Actually, they are doing something about it. The first step in doing something about the problem is actually knowing the problem exists and the scale of the problem. This has only been possible as of about the last two months or so, since the WISE telescope has finished the first ever survey that's been able to identify and count most of these NEO's (Near Earth Objects) and that data has finally been processed. Once you know they exist, you can determine their orbits and if one seems to be on a path to hit us, then we can start to deal with it. If that's not doing something about it, I don't know what is? Before WISE we didn't even have the technology to find and identify so many objects so quickly and easily. It's a great advancement for us, one that could prove to literally save the world some day.

Out of all these objects, there are only a small handful that pose any possibility of hitting us in the relatively near future (meaning in the next 100 years). As they track these objects over time they'll have a better knowledge as to if they are on a path to hit us, and if so we have ways we can deal with it given enough time. Here's a list of objects that are actually a risk to us:

neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

Originally posted by Sinny
LOL I'm more concerned about the one that's either due to pass us OR hit us in 2036.... Seems NASA and the Russians can't decide on which!

Apophis is not nearly the biggest threat facing us right now. It's interesting for the close pass it will be making in 2029 which will be quite nice to observe, but the odds of an impact in 2036 are extremely low. There are far more likely impacts facing us right now. 2011 AG5 being the most serious. Odds that Apophis will hit us in 2036? 1 in 233,000. Odds that 2011 AG5 will hit us in 2040? 1 in 500.

2011 AG5 may not be as big, but it would still penetrate the atmosphere and hit with a force of about a 100 megaton explosion. To put that in perspective, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was only 15 kilotons. In other words, this would be equivalent to about 6,666 Hiroshima explosions. A direct hit would form a crater about 1.8 miles wide. And that's assuming it's not an iron asteroid.

Dare I say it... at this point, Apophis has become a distraction and is causing people to have tunnel vision when there are many other threats out there, some far more likely to hit us. This is why we have to keep an eye on the overall threat population.

Apollo astronaut Rusty Scweickart is concerned enough about 2011 AG5 that he has recommended NASA start the planning stages of a deflection mission now rather than wait till we know for sure if it will hit us or not.
b612foundation.org...

Originally posted by ngchunter2011 AG5 may not be as big, but it would still penetrate the atmosphere and hit with a force of about a 100 megaton explosion. To put that in perspective, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was only 15 kilotons. In other words, this would be equivalent to about 6,666 Hiroshima explosions. A direct hit would form a crater about 1.8 miles wide. And that's assuming it's not an iron asteroid.

100 megatons is twice the size of the largest nuke ever tested, the Tsar Bomba. Originally the Tsar Bomba test was supposed to be of 100 megatons, but the Soviets scaled it back after realizing in that configuration it was going to release an absurd amount of radiation into the environment. (At 50mt it actually released only a small fraction of the radiation the 100mt version would have.)

Originally posted by ngchunter
Apollo astronaut Rusty Scweickart is concerned enough about 2011 AG5 that he has recommended NASA start the planning stages of a deflection mission now rather than wait till we know for sure if it will hit us or not.
b612foundation.org...

I gotta say I agree with him. It's a small amount of effort for potentially a great return protecting the Earth. And whatever work is done on this can easily be re-purposed for any other possible threats that might come along should 2011 AG5 prove to not be a problem.

I suspect that the "big one", whenever it comes, will be one that is not on the PHA list and sneaks in for an appearance that leaves only days or weeks for planning.

It will likely happen as the bizarre, indirect result a of a mission to intended deflect a much smaller PHA

Therefore, It would be nice to develop/test some quick-launch technology that could possibly alter the course of a sizeable incoming rock.

Might have to repeat this process a few times

reply to post by ngchunter


I know what you mean, but still the curious thing is, why are the Russians contestings these facts? Just food for thought

Originally posted by Sinny
reply to post by ngchunter

 

I know what you mean, but still the curious thing is, why are the Russians contestings these facts? Just food for thought

Because RT is not a reliable source of information. They were also spreading BS about Elenin saying that it would nearly collide with earth. Utter BS and I can't emphasize that enough.

Already posted yesterday here