mae@vygr.Sun.COM (Mike Ekberg, Sun {GPD-LEGO}) (04/26/89)
I heard a TV news teaser two days ago that mentioned something about an asteroid coming close to the earth recently. Haven't heard anything about it since. Near is a relative term. I assume the odds a good-sized asteroid striking the earth in the near future is (ahem) astronomical. Does any space organization watch for such things? or is it not worth bothering about? #mike (sun!mae), M/S 8-40 #"There's nothing human that's alien to us." - A. Einstein
hinojosa@hp-sdd.hp.com (Daniel Hinojosa) (04/26/89)
In article <101062@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> mae@vygr.Sun.COM (Mike Ekberg, Sun {GPD-LEGO}) writes: >I heard a TV news teaser two days ago that mentioned >something about an asteroid coming close to the >earth recently. Haven't heard anything about it >since. I read an article in the L.A. Times about this event. Seems the asteroid in question came amazingly close to earth. That is, amazingly close in the overall scope of the universe. 500 million miles close. The article described that distance as twice the distance of the moon to earth. I don't recall the article giving dimensions of the asteroid, but it must have been exceptionally large for scientists <sp?> to even have noticed it. -- ==dan=hinojosa================================================================== email - uunet!ucsd!hp-sdd!hinojosa \ / uunet!hplabs!hp-sdd!hinojosa --------------------------------------- ---==(*o*)==--- ---------------------- Jesus saves... but Gretzky gets the rebound! He shoots. HE SCOOORES!!!
mveh2@cbnews.ATT.COM (edward.holdgate.iv) (04/26/89)
From article <101062@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>, by mae@vygr.Sun.COM (Mike Ekberg, Sun {GPD-LEGO}):
> I heard a TV news teaser two days ago that mentioned
> something about an asteroid coming close to the
> earth recently. Haven't heard anything about it
> since.
>
> Near is a relative term. I assume the odds a good-sized
> asteroid striking the earth in the near future is
> (ahem) astronomical. Does any space organization watch for
> such things? or is it not worth bothering about?
>
This week's TIME magazine has an article that says this asteroid passed
the earth at a distance twice as far as the earth-moon distance. It
also indicates that we would be lucky to get one days warning (let alone
enough time to break it up or redirect it.) Furthermore, it will make
another close pass in about 30 (?) more years.
Follow-ups to sci.space...
# Ed Holdgate
# standard disclaimers apply... AT&T Network Systems, MVW
# att!mvgpd!mveh2phil@titan.rice.edu (William LeFebvre) (04/27/89)
In article <101062@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> mae@vygr.Sun.COM (Mike Ekberg, Sun {GPD-LEGO}) writes: >I heard a TV news teaser two days ago that mentioned >something about an asteroid coming close to the >earth recently. I heard that at its closest, its distance was twice that of the moon. That's actually pretty close on a cosmic scale. They also didn't see it approaching---I think they didn't spot it until it was at its closest distance (or maybe after). So what's this doing in sci.space.SHUTTLE, anyway? William LeFebvre Department of Computer Science Rice University <phil@Rice.edu>
sl161011@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (Kevin Clendenien) (04/27/89)
In article <101062@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> mae@vygr.Sun.COM (Mike Ekberg, Sun {GPD-LEGO}) writes: >I heard a TV news teaser two days ago that mentioned >something about an asteroid coming close to the >earth recently. Haven't heard anything about it >since. > >#mike (sun!mae), M/S 8-40 The asterioid in question, at it's closest point, was slightly less than twice the distance to the moon from the earth. Experts estimate that if it had hit the earth, it would have had a total destructive force of 20,000 (1 megaton) nuclear bombs, leaving a crater 5 miles deep, and 10 miles across. If it had landed in the ocean, some serious tidal waves could be expected. The asteroid was not sighted as it passed, but was discovered on photographic plates. It is believed that it will pass this way again, and again. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- sl161011@silver.UUCP Kevin B. Clendenien ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
jokim@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (John H. Kim) (05/02/89)
In article <1945@hp-sdd.hp.com> hinojosa@hp-sdd.UUCP (Daniel Hinojosa) writes: > >I read an article in the L.A. Times about this event. Seems the asteroid >in question came amazingly close to earth. That is, amazingly close >in the overall scope of the universe. 500 million miles close. The >article described that distance as twice the distance of the moon to >earth. I don't recall the article giving dimensions of the asteroid, 500 000 miles. 500 000 000 miles is more like the closest the earth gets to jupiter, or maybe saturn, I forget. -- John H. Kim | (This space to be filled when I jokim@jarthur.Claremont.EDU | think of something very clever uunet!muddcs!jarthur!jokim | to use as a disclaimer)