Hi Chuck, I would not want to start a war between the different branches of our military. But, I know a few fromer Marine and Army helicopter pilots that say all they need, to bag one of those fancy jets, is a place to hide and a good air-air missile. Erik
Hmm.. so .. looks like it might work if the asteroid is less than 500 meters in diameter and we have at least 2 years warning. Or, 5+ years warning for larger asteroids. Am I reading that right? How easy would it be to spot an asteroid of, say, 600 meters five years out? Personally, I think the whole thing is doomed without Bruce Willis... Julie ----- Original Message ----- From: <diveboss@xmission.com> To: <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: 2007-08-07 16:29 Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Asteroid Deflector
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292464,00.html
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On 07 Aug 2007, at 18:25, Julie Chorley wrote:
How easy would it be to spot an asteroid of, say, 600 meters five years out?
The idea is to spot them during a pass that brings them close enough to measure their orbit. From those data its position is plotted well into the future. If those calculations show it poses no danger, followup observations are a low priority. But if there's a chance it may cause trouble a very close eye is kept on it to further refine knowledge of the orbit. With luck the first hints of possible danger will come many years and several passes near Earth before it poses a real threat. With that kind of time only a relatively small amount of push is required to steer it clear of an impact with Earth. pw
Old soldiers say, "you never hear the bullet that gets you"... On 8/7/07, Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com> wrote:
On 07 Aug 2007, at 18:25, Julie Chorley wrote:
How easy would it be to spot an asteroid of, say, 600 meters five years out?
The idea is to spot them during a pass that brings them close enough to measure their orbit. From those data its position is plotted well into the future. If those calculations show it poses no danger, followup observations are a low priority. But if there's a chance it may cause trouble a very close eye is kept on it to further refine knowledge of the orbit.
With luck the first hints of possible danger will come many years and several passes near Earth before it poses a real threat. With that kind of time only a relatively small amount of push is required to steer it clear of an impact with Earth.
It's cause the "old" soldiers hearing is gone! Quoting Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com>:
Old soldiers say, "you never hear the bullet that gets you"...
On 8/7/07, Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com> wrote:
On 07 Aug 2007, at 18:25, Julie Chorley wrote:
How easy would it be to spot an asteroid of, say, 600 meters five years out?
The idea is to spot them during a pass that brings them close enough to measure their orbit. From those data its position is plotted well into the future. If those calculations show it poses no danger, followup observations are a low priority. But if there's a chance it may cause trouble a very close eye is kept on it to further refine knowledge of the orbit.
With luck the first hints of possible danger will come many years and several passes near Earth before it poses a real threat. With that kind of time only a relatively small amount of push is required to steer it clear of an impact with Earth.
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So this is in defense of that one that they know is planning on being troublesome in what was it, 2060 or something? How about one that doesn't make any trial runs and just decides to make the Earth its new home? Julie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Patrick Wiggins" <paw@wirelessbeehive.com> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: 2007-08-07 22:52 Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Asteroid Deflector
On 07 Aug 2007, at 18:25, Julie Chorley wrote:
How easy would it be to spot an asteroid of, say, 600 meters five years out?
The idea is to spot them during a pass that brings them close enough to measure their orbit. From those data its position is plotted well into the future. If those calculations show it poses no danger, followup observations are a low priority. But if there's a chance it may cause trouble a very close eye is kept on it to further refine knowledge of the orbit.
With luck the first hints of possible danger will come many years and several passes near Earth before it poses a real threat. With that kind of time only a relatively small amount of push is required to steer it clear of an impact with Earth.
pw
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On 08 Aug 2007, at 06:54, Julie Chorley wrote:
So this is in defense of that one that they know is planning on being troublesome in what was it, 2060 or something?
How about one that doesn't make any trial runs and just decides to make the Earth its new home?
Julie
I think you might be referring to 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4). It's set to make a very close pass (closer than our geosynchronous satellites and close enough that Europeans will be able to see it naked eye) on 13 April 2029. Earth's gravity will then adjust Apophis's orbit such that it will return for another very close pass (with a very small possibility of impact) on 13 April 2036. A few asides. Sufferers of paraskavedekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th) will want to know that both of those 13 April dates (2029 and 2036) will be Fridays. While working with one of Apophis's discoverers (Roy Tucker) earlier this year to get an asteroid named for Bryce Canyon I asked him about his team choosing "Apophis" for the name. Turns out they are fans of Stargate SG-1. pw
Hi Patrick,
I thought there was another asteroid before this one. I will clean off my desk and find the Sky&Telescope article, it was in a 2005 or 2006 issue. My search of thier website was unsuccesful. Erik On 08 Aug 2007, at 06:54, Julie Chorley wrote:
So this is in defense of that one that they know is planning on being troublesome in what was it, 2060 or something?
How about one that doesn't make any trial runs and just decides to make the Earth its new home?
Julie
I think you might be referring to 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4).
It's set to make a very close pass (closer than our geosynchronous satellites and close enough that Europeans will be able to see it naked eye) on 13 April 2029. Earth's gravity will then adjust Apophis's orbit such that it will return for another very close pass (with a very small possibility of impact) on 13 April 2036.
A few asides.
Sufferers of paraskavedekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th) will want to know that both of those 13 April dates (2029 and 2036) will be Fridays.
While working with one of Apophis's discoverers (Roy Tucker) earlier this year to get an asteroid named for Bryce Canyon I asked him about his team choosing "Apophis" for the name. Turns out they are fans of Stargate SG-1.
pw
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The scary thing is they say we only have found and cataloged 5% of the earth crossing orbits. Will we even see it coming? There are only a handfull of people looking for them, amateurs included. Patrick is rigth with luck we may detect it!
Erik On 07 Aug 2007, at 18:25, Julie Chorley wrote:
How easy would it be to spot an asteroid of, say, 600 meters five years out?
The idea is to spot them during a pass that brings them close enough to measure their orbit. From those data its position is plotted well into the future. If those calculations show it poses no danger, followup observations are a low priority. But if there's a chance it may cause trouble a very close eye is kept on it to further refine knowledge of the orbit.
With luck the first hints of possible danger will come many years and several passes near Earth before it poses a real threat. With that kind of time only a relatively small amount of push is required to steer it clear of an impact with Earth.
pw
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participants (5)
-
Chuck Hards -
diveboss＠xmission.com -
erikhansen＠TheBlueZone.net -
Julie Chorley -
Patrick Wiggins