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Re: Comet Elenin
And at the same time frame... we have... a GIANT ASTEROID HEADED RIGHT FOR US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42494593...science-space/
Earth to get very close look at a huge asteroid
Flyby in November sparks extensive campaign for all kinds of observations
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Arecibo Observatory / Michael Nolan
The near-Earth asteroid named 2005 YU55 — on the list of potentially dangerous asteroids — was observed with the Arecibo Telescope's planetary radar on April 19, 2010, when it was about 1.5 million miles from the Earth, which is about six times the distance to the moon.
By Leonard David
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updated 4/8/2011 12:34:37 PM ET
Mark your calendars for an impressive and upcoming flyby of an asteroid that’s one of the larger potentially perilous space rocks in the heavens – in terms of smacking the Earth in the future.
It’s the case of asteroid 2005 YU55, a round mini-world that is about 1,300 feet in diameter. In early November, this asteroid will approach Earth within a scant 0.85 lunar distances.
Due the object’s size and whisking by so close to Earth, an extensive campaign of radar, visual and infrared observations are being planned.
Asteroid 2005 YU55 was discovered by Spacewatch at the University of Arizona, Tucson’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory on Dec. 28, 2005. En route and headed our way, the cosmic wanderer is another reminder about life here on our sitting duck of a planet.
Close and big
“The close Earth approach of 2005 YU55 on November 8 is unusual since it is close and big. On average, one wouldn’t expect an object this big to pass this close but every 30 years,” said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Yeomans said that with new radar capabilities at Goldstone in California — part of NASA’s Deep Space Network — there is a good chance of obtaining radar imaging of 2005 YU55 down to the 5-meter resolution level. Doing so, he said, would mean obtaining higher spatial resolution of the object than that attained by recent spacecraft flyby missions.
“So we like to think of this opportunity as a close flyby mission with Earth as the spacecraft,” Yeomans told Space.com. “When combined with ground-based optical and near-infrared observations, the radar data should provide a fairly complete picture of one of the larger potentially hazardous asteroids,” he said.
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Asteroid 2005 YU55 is a slow rotator. Because of its size and proximity to Earth, the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., has designated the space rock as a “potentially hazardous asteroid.”
Dishing it out
“We’re already preparing for the 2005 YU55 flyby,” said Lance Benner, a research scientist at JPL and a specialist on radar imaging of near-Earth objects. He said part of the plan is to observe the asteroid with radar using both the huge Arecibo dish in Puerto Rico and equipment at Goldstone.
“The asteroid will approach from the south, so Goldstone has the first chance to observe it due to its declination coverage,” Benner told Space.com.
To help coordinate the observing campaigns, “Radar Observations Planning” websites have been set up for this unusual occasion, Benner said.
“This flyby will be the closest by any near-Earth asteroid with an absolute magnitude this bright since 1976 and until 2028,” Benner added. “Having said that, nobody saw 2010 XC15 during its close flyby within 0.5 lunar distance in 1976,” he said, noting that this asteroid wasn’t discovered until late in 2010.
“Thus, the flyby by 2005 YU55 will be the closest actually observed by something this large, so it represents a unique opportunity,” Benner said. “In a real sense, this will provide imaging resolution comparable to or even better than a spacecraft mission flyby.”
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Radar paint
Benner said that because the asteroid is zooming by Earth so very close, radar echoes will be extremely strong. One facility at Goldstone will be used to transmit and “radar paint” the object … another Goldstone dish is on tap to snag the reflected echo of radar data.
What can radar do?
Information collected by this technique, for example, can be transformed into 3-D shapes, with surface features and spin rates identified. The asteroid’s roughness and density also can be assessed. Furthermore, radar can improve the whereabouts of the object. By greatly shrinking uncertainties for newly discovered meandering NEOs, that in turn enables motion prediction for decades to centuries.
As for seeing the asteroid with small telescopes, start getting your gear ready.
Initially, the object will be too close to the sun and too faint for optical observers. But late in the day (Universal Time) on Nov. 8, the solar elongation will grow sufficiently to see it. Early on Nov. 9, the asteroid could reach about 11th magnitude for several hours before it fades as its distance rapidly increases, Benner explained.
Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines and has written for Space.com since 1999.
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Re: Comet Elenin
http://www.realistnews.net/Thread-na...-elenin?page=2
Russian Warning Issued Over “Controlled” Comet Headed Towards Earth
A chilling report prepared for President Medvedev by Minister Serdyukov of the Russian Defense Ministry on the building of an additional 5,000 underground ‘bomb’ shelters in Moscow warns that even though progress is being made, the appearance of the new Comet Elenin [photo right] in our Solar System means “additional resources” will have to be added “immediately” as the 2012 timeline for completion “may not be soon enough”.
Sparking the fears of Minister Serdyukov, he says in this report, is that based upon the new orbit calculations for Comet Elenin, it appears in “all likelihood” that this celestial object is under some type of “intelligent control” and will approach our Earth “much closer” than originally thought this coming fall season.
Comet Elenin was discovered by Doctor-Scientist Leonid Elenin on 10 December 2010 from his research facility in Lyubertsy utilizing images acquired from the 18-inch (45-cm) telescope at the ISON-NM Observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico and confirmed by Doctor-Scientists Aleksei Sergeyev and Artem Novichenko from the Maidanak Observatory in Uzbekistan.
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Re: Comet Elenin
Just an excuse to make more nukes, Aramus. LOL
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Re: Comet Elenin
Wasn't there a movie similar to this?
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Re: Comet Elenin
http://sharing.myfoxmemphis.com/shar...05_320_240.JPG
NASA has stated that Comet Elenin will pass at a safe 22 million miles from Earth in October. (NASA)
Comet Elenin Poses No Threat to Earth, NASA Says
Updated: Thursday, 18 Aug 2011, 10:11 AM CDT
Published : Thursday, 18 Aug 2011, 10:11 AM CDT
(EndPlay Staff Reports) - No reason to panic people. Comet Elenin poses no threat to Earth.
NASA announced this week that Elenin, also known as C/2010 X1, will pass about 22 million miles from Earth when it makes its closest approach on Oct. 16, 2011. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory stated that's more than 90 times the distance between the Earth and the moon.
NASA also stated that neither the comet nor its alignments with other celestial bodies will cause problems on Earth, such as the shifting of tides or tectonic plates.
"Any approximate alignments of comet Elenin with other celestial bodies are meaningless, and the comet will not encounter any dark bodies that could perturb its orbit, nor will it influence us in any way here on Earth," said NASA scientist Don Yeomans. He said that the comet will be far away and is one of the smaller comets.
He added that comets "are not the most densely-packed objects out there."
"So you've got a modest-sized icy dirtball that is getting no closer than 35 million kilometers (about 22 million miles)," Yeomans said.
NASA also addressed rumors that Elenin is a "brown dwarf" or what's dubbed as a "failed star" by scientists. David Morrison of the NASA Astrobiology Institute stated that the comet is not a brown star and will have no measurable influence on anything.
Discovery News reported that NASA issued the press release to respond "to the crazy theories being flung around." This is similar to when NASA responded in 2009 to rumors that the Earth would end in 2012.
Scientists believe the last known asteroid to hit the Earth was 65 million years ago adn led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
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Re: Comet Elenin
Rick, I know you follow this area closely: so what do you know about "planet x". I've skimmed lightly about it for years, but according to a newspaper report- it's supposed to pass between earth & sun around mid Sept. , before the comet eli. How fast will this planet be travelling? The report said it passes every 3600 years. What's the short real story and are there some facts you cant give us your opinion on?
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Re: Comet Elenin
There are several versions of "Planet X", sami. One of them is called "Nibiru". Quite frankly, this planet doesn't exist.
In the 1950s or so some astronomer postulated the existence of a "Planet X", so called because it was not yet discovered. He believed that given the specifics of the ratios of the distances between the first few planets (the main 8) there should be another one residing out there someplace.
if you take into account these ratios (which are pretty rough) you will find that the asteroid belt which lies between Mars and Jupiter OUGHT to be a planet as well.
(Personally, I think this asteroid belt WAS a planet and Mars was the moon around it, because Mars' ratio is a little 'off', but thats my own personal theory... and I digress).
There is no planet that will make its way between the Earth and Sun any time soon because if there were, we'd have discovered it some time ago. Months, if not years.
Now, since you specifically mentioned an orbit parameter of 3600 years, that particular planet would be this so-called Nibiru. It was "invented" by Zacharian Stitchen (or used by him anyway) to explain that we are all alien plants here on this Earth and have been genetically modified by these aliens and they LIVE on this giant planet (supposed to be very much larger than earth) and they will come back to reenslave us again.
So... honestly. It's a bunch of hogwash.
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Re: Comet Elenin
Thanks, Rick. But just in case the "niburians" do come, I think maybe I'll just kick ass & forget about taking names. (Zacharian Stitchen)
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Re: Comet Elenin
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Re: Comet Elenin
- Will Earthbound Comet Fulfill 2012 Prophecy?
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- http://news.discovery.com/contributo...lard-49x49.jpg
- Analysis by Ray Villard
Tue Mar 22, 2011 01:01 PM ET
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http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8...805a970d-800wi
It's nearly 300 million miles away and barreling toward us. The intruder from deep space, called called comet Elenin, crosses Earth's orbit on its inbound leg and again on its outbound swing around the sun later this year.
Russian astronomer Leonid Elenin discovered the innocuous little comet on Dec. 10, 2010, at International Scientific Optical Network's robotic observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico.
Presently the comet is a faint smudge of light in deep sky exposures. By late August comet Elenin should be visible to the naked eye as a dim "fuzzy star" with a tail. Over a few weeks the visitor will speed across the spring constellation Virgo and toward Leo on its outbound leg.
http://news.discovery.com/brand%20images/dnews-logo.jpg SLIDE SHOW: Close Encounters with Comets
Cometgate
A dizzying collection of doomsday predictions have been linked to comet Elenin. The hysteria was inevitable as anxiety grows over the approach of 2012 -- that is supposedly a game-changing year for life on Earth. At least according to some interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar.
If you believe the gobbledygook on numerous websites and YouTube videos, this is a "renegade comet" that just couldn't wait for 2012 to mess with the Earth.
Though it's now over twice as far away from Earth than the sun is, comet Elenin has already been blamed for triggering earthquakes and shifting Earth's rotation axis. The comet has also been accused of melting ice on Mars and stirring up a storm on Saturn. It's predicted to flip Earth's magnetic field.
And that's just the beginning. There are numerous "Cometgate" allegations of news media and government cover-up, and the existence of hidden comet shelters for U.S. officials.
The timing of the MESSENGER spacecraft's deceleration in orbit around Mercury last week is also suspect because our innermost planet supposedly "aligns" with the comet's position this month.
http://news.discovery.com/brand%20images/dnews-logo.jpg SLIDE SHOW: 6 Intimate Comet Encounters
http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8...8f34970c-800wi
Reality Check
Comet Elenin will sweep nearest to Earth on Oct. 16 at a distance of 21 million miles and be moving fast enough to travel the distance from Earth to the moon in under five hours!
The effects of the comet on Earth at closest approach will be as inconsequential as that of a mosquito slamming head-on into an ocean-going supertanker.
Let's look at the physics. Comet Elenin is a loose agglomeration of volatile ices and dust a few miles across. It is therefore one hundred billionth the mass of our moon. (The relative difference is roughly the same as the mass of a mosquito vs. the mass of an oil supertanker.)
The comet will pass no closer to us than 84 times the Earth-moon distance.
Applying Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity, this means the comet's tidal pull on Earth -- at closest approach -- will be approximately one-hundred trillionth the force of the moon's tidal pull on Earth. And, we all now know that despite the dreaded Supermoon hype last week, there were no monster storms or earthquakes triggered by our satellite's gravitational tug at closest approach to Earth.
http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8...81be970d-800wi
Comet-Kazi
What's more, comets get the worst end of the deal when they venture near larger bodies -- just like that mosquito slamming into the supertanker.
Some comets dive-bomb the sun routinely. What happens? They disintegrate into pieces.
The same held true for comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 that was ripped apart by tidal forces when it ventured too close to Jupiter. When the comet pieces plunged into Jupiter in 1994, the planet simply belched a few mushroom clouds from titanic impact explosions.
On May 11, 1983 comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock swept within 3 million miles of Earth –- one of the closest comet approaches in modern times. The visitor looked as big as the full moon and sped across a wide swath of sky in just a few days.
That same day saw an explosion of protests in Santiago, Chile against the decade-long rule of General Augusto Pinochet. Unless you’re an astrologer, the comet's influence was not to blame.
The closest ever-recoded flyby of Earth was comet Lexell in 1770, which passed at 1.4 million miles. On Jan. 26th that year a magnitude 9 earthquake took place off the west coast of the North America.
Similarly, many coincidences will happen this year that people will want to blame on comet Elenin. The most bizarre link is that the comet's closest approach to the sun happens on the 10th anniversary of the combined terrorist attacks on the U.S. "Is it a coincidence that Elenin could be seen as "Elevennine" (9/11 backwards)?" asks one conspiracy website.
In the cosmic scheme of things, comet Elenin is simply a nice target for backyard sky watchers to follow. But Earth as a planet isn't phased at all.