FARK.com: (6711047) 400-meter-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 miles from the Earth. Or in NASA terms, a direct hit

		400-meter-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 miles from the Earth. Or in NASA terms, a direct hit (reuters.com)		24
		More: Followup, NASA, Earth, near earth objects, space rock, soil sample, Hubble Space Telescope, closest approach, asteroids

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24 Comments (+0 »)

JinxofSpades

2011-11-07 09:32:58 AM

Should I start up my Aerosmith playlist?

the_geek

2011-11-07 09:34:02 AM

"Near miss?" "WTF is a near miss?"

/RIP

Sarah Palin's Conscience

2011-11-07 09:35:38 AM

Thousands of amateur and professional astronomers are expected to track YU 55's approach, which will be visible from the planet's northern hemisphere. It will be too dim to be seen with the naked eye, however, and it will be moving too fast for viewing by the Hubble Space Telescope.

"The best time to observe it would be in the early evening on November 8 from the East Coast of the United States," Yeomans said. "It is going to be very faint, even at its closest approach. You will need a decent-sized telescope to be able to actually see the object as it flies by."

Aww... :(

laststarfighter

2011-11-07 09:37:38 AM

Has the President contacted Bruce Willis and Steve Buscemi yet?

Ponzholio

2011-11-07 09:40:19 AM

Made me think of this, subby-

A physicist, engineer and a statistician are out hunting. Suddenly, a deer appears 50 yards away.

The physicist does some basic ballistic calculations, assuming a vacuum, lifts his rifle to a specific angle, and shoots. The bullet lands 5 yards short.

The engineer adds a fudge factor for air resistance, lifts his rifle slightly higher, and shoots. The bullet lands 5 yards long.

The statistician yells "We got him!"

FloydLloyd

2011-11-07 09:42:45 AM

/hot like 99

LesserEvil

2011-11-07 10:05:20 AM

Hmmm... I think there's something much larger out there, and it's only 235,000 miles from missing impact with the earth....

Byno

2011-11-07 10:08:27 AM

Trolljegeren

2011-11-07 10:17:32 AM

"400-meter-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 miles from the Earth"

Didn't they learn their lesson regarding mixing their units?

czetie

2011-11-07 10:28:04 AM

Or to put it another way, you could fit almost 30 more Earths in between us and this asteroid's closest approach.

If that's hard to imagine, picture this: You throw a pebble at a basketball hoop, and it doesn't even pass inside the three point line. That's how "near" this miss is.

/Space is big. Really big.

FlashHarry

2011-11-07 10:58:53 AM

Lords of Light!

madcan34

2011-11-07 11:43:38 AM

200,000 miles!? You could drive a truck through that!

Diogenes Teufelsdrockh

2011-11-07 12:02:51 PM

Trolljegeren: "400-meter-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 miles from the Earth"

Didn't they learn their lesson regarding mixing their units?

You're right, it should actually be:

"400-mile-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 meters from the Earth"

/How many rods and chains is that? What about in furlongs?

maniacbastard

2011-11-07 12:13:14 PM

You guys should read this:
Gravity Keyhole (new window)

The idea that a asteroid 'comes close' and is a threat is really irrelevant unless it passes through the proper keyhole for it's orbit. A big asteroid could come within 5000 miles of Earth and be less of a threat than one far away that makes it's pass through the keyhole. Sometimes the keyhole is as small as a few meters in diameter, rarely is it more than a mile in diameter.

It is really interesting stuff.

Trolljegeren

2011-11-07 12:37:20 PM

Diogenes Teufelsdrockh: Trolljegeren: "400-meter-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 miles from the Earth"

Didn't they learn their lesson regarding mixing their units?

You're right, it should actually be:

"400-mile-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 meters from the Earth"

/How many rods and chains is that? What about in furlongs?

Bzzzzzt. Sorry, but no.

We would have accepted either:
'1200-foot wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 miles from the Earth,' OR '400-meter-wide asteroid to now pass only 323,000 kilometers from the Earth.

/rod=5.5 yards=16.5 ft.
//chain=66 ft.
///furlong=660 ft.

YodaBlues

2011-11-07 12:40:50 PM

the_geek: "Near miss?" "WTF is a near miss?"

/RIP

Came to post this, leaving satisfied.

/miss ya george, maybe one day we'll invent technology capable of retrieving your frisbee off the roof.

Diogenes Teufelsdrockh

2011-11-07 01:05:04 PM

Trolljegeren: Diogenes Teufelsdrockh: Trolljegeren: "400-meter-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 miles from the Earth"

Didn't they learn their lesson regarding mixing their units?

You're right, it should actually be:

"400-mile-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 meters from the Earth"

/How many rods and chains is that? What about in furlongs?

Bzzzzzt. Sorry, but no.

We would have accepted either:
'1200-foot wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 miles from the Earth,' OR '400-meter-wide asteroid to now pass only 323,000 kilometers from the Earth.

/rod=5.5 yards=16.5 ft.
//chain=66 ft.
///furlong=660 ft.

In other news, my moderately lame and dryish sense of humor passed within 7 meters, 1 link and 3 inches of your head, avoiding collision.

namatad

2011-11-07 01:15:06 PM

Trolljegeren: "400-meter-wide asteroid to now pass only 200,000 miles from the Earth"

Didn't they learn their lesson regarding mixing their units?

ROFL

nope

you would think the solution is actually QUITE EASY.
1) pick a STANDARD. ANY STANDARD
2) fire ANYONE who doesnt use the STANDARD. PERIOD.
3) problem solved. forever.

the group which wasnt using the standard for the mars observer should never be allowed to work in the field again. ever. because of them, billions of dollars were pissed away. because they were "right"

/god I hate tech snobs. unix/apple/betamax/metric/etc
/yes windows sucks. but at least I dont have to recompile the kernel.
/get off my lawn. I was making changes to Minix before you were born.

theresnothinglft

2011-11-07 01:16:18 PM

I heard through my Astro club that it is going to pass within 1 degree of Altair and will pass very close to Epsilon Delphini during its closest approach.

Altair pass will be at 6:07:30 PM EST
Epsilon Delphini will be at 6:28:30 EST

You'll be able to see it in your scope if you look toward these stars at these times.

brantgoose

2011-11-07 03:53:35 PM

To a scientist, anything within the orbit of the Moon is "too close for comfort".

I call this the George Strait Rule, which I have named after the man who wrote the country song "All of my exes live in Texas".

brantgoose

2011-11-07 03:58:44 PM

Maxwell Smart: Would you believe it shrinks to the size of a Chihuahua's head after hitting the ocean?

Agent 99: Yes, Max, of course I would, if you say so.

John Henry Eden

2011-11-07 04:49:12 PM

Praise the Sun!

Fark Me To Tears

2011-11-07 11:01:54 PM

FTFA: "The best time to observe it would be in the early evening on November 8 from the East Coast of the United States," Yeomans said. "It is going to be very faint, even at its closest approach. You will need a decent-sized telescope to be able to actually see the object as it flies by."

I think this is a plot by Florida Republicans to keep us distracted while they futz with tomorrow's election results.

Kirk's_Toupee

2011-11-07 11:23:28 PM

Fark Me To Tears: FTFA: "The best time to observe it would be in the early evening on November 8 from the East Coast of the United States," Yeomans said. "It is going to be very faint, even at its closest approach. You will need a decent-sized telescope to be able to actually see the object as it flies by."

I think this is a plot by Florida Republicans to keep us distracted while they futz with tomorrow's election results.

now that I think about it.....

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