A Space & astronomy forum. SpaceBanter.com

Go Back   Home » SpaceBanter.com forum » Space Science » Space Station
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Grab that asteroid.



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old September 4th 14, 08:26 AM posted to sci.space.station
Brian Gaff[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 58
Default Grab that asteroid.

Does not seem to me that people are going to have to go far to get a small
one then, it seems one comes past the earth almost every three months or so
of late.


http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news184.html

Small Asteroid to Pass Close by Earth on September 7 (2014 RC)

NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office
September 3, 2014

[Graphic]
This graphic depicts the passage of asteroid 2014 RC past Earth on
September 7, 2014. At time of closest approach, the space rock will be
about one-tenth the distance from Earth to the moon. Times indicated on
the graphic are Universal Time. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to the
Earth on Sunday, 7 September 2014. This small asteroid was initially
discovered on the night of 31 August by the Catalina Sky Survey near
Tucson AZ, and independently detected the next night by the Pan-STARRS 1
telescope, located on the summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii. Both
reported their observations to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, MA.
Additional follow-up observations by the Catalina Sky Survey and the
University of Hawaii 88-inch on Mauna Kea confirmed the orbit of 2014
RC. From its brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about
20 meters (60 feet) in size.

Based on current calculations, the best estimate for closest approach
will be on 7 September, 2014, at about 18:15 UTC (2:15 PM EDT) at
approximately 1/10th the distance from the Earth to the Moon, or at
about 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles). Its apparent magnitude at
closest approach will be about 11.5, rendering it unobservable to the
unaided eye. However, amateur astronomers with small telescopes might
glimpse the fast moving appearance of this near-Earth asteroid.

The asteroid will pass below the Earth and the geosynchronous ring of
communications and weather satellites orbiting 35,890 km (22,300 miles)
above our planet's surface. While this celestial object does not appear
to pose any threat to the Earth or satellites, its close approach
creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more
about asteroids.

While 2014 RC will not impact the Earth, its orbit will bring it back to
the Earth's neighborhood in the future. It's future motion will be
closely monitored but no future threatening Earth encounters have been
identified.

For a heliocentric view of the orbit of asteroid 2014 RC with respect to
the Earth and other plan ets, please see:

http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2014+RC&orb=1


--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active


  #2  
Old September 4th 14, 09:29 PM posted to sci.space.station
Greg \(Strider\) Moore
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 752
Default Grab that asteroid.

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message ...

Does not seem to me that people are going to have to go far to get a small
one then, it seems one comes past the earth almost every three months or so
of late.


Problem of course isn't so much distance, as much relative velocity.

Just because it's close doesn't mean it's easier to get to.

An asteroid passing between the Earth and the Moon would most likely be
harder to get to than the Moon for example. (assuming you want a
soft-landing of sorts.)



http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news184.html

Small Asteroid to Pass Close by Earth on September 7 (2014 RC)

NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office
September 3, 2014

[Graphic]
This graphic depicts the passage of asteroid 2014 RC past Earth on
September 7, 2014. At time of closest approach, the space rock will be
about one-tenth the distance from Earth to the moon. Times indicated on
the graphic are Universal Time. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to the
Earth on Sunday, 7 September 2014. This small asteroid was initially
discovered on the night of 31 August by the Catalina Sky Survey near
Tucson AZ, and independently detected the next night by the Pan-STARRS 1
telescope, located on the summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii. Both
reported their observations to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, MA.
Additional follow-up observations by the Catalina Sky Survey and the
University of Hawaii 88-inch on Mauna Kea confirmed the orbit of 2014
RC. From its brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about
20 meters (60 feet) in size.

Based on current calculations, the best estimate for closest approach
will be on 7 September, 2014, at about 18:15 UTC (2:15 PM EDT) at
approximately 1/10th the distance from the Earth to the Moon, or at
about 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles). Its apparent magnitude at
closest approach will be about 11.5, rendering it unobservable to the
unaided eye. However, amateur astronomers with small telescopes might
glimpse the fast moving appearance of this near-Earth asteroid.

The asteroid will pass below the Earth and the geosynchronous ring of
communications and weather satellites orbiting 35,890 km (22,300 miles)
above our planet's surface. While this celestial object does not appear
to pose any threat to the Earth or satellites, its close approach
creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more
about asteroids.

While 2014 RC will not impact the Earth, its orbit will bring it back to
the Earth's neighborhood in the future. It's future motion will be
closely monitored but no future threatening Earth encounters have been
identified.

For a heliocentric view of the orbit of asteroid 2014 RC with respect to
the Earth and other plan ets, please see:

http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2014+RC&orb=1



--
Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/
CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net

  #3  
Old September 5th 14, 10:14 AM posted to sci.space.station
Brian Gaff[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 58
Default Grab that asteroid.

What you need is a high tech net, one that stretches to dissipate the energy
but does not spring back, dissipating the energy into heat instead. The
craft this would be mounted on would need a fairly large short lived
thrusters though to counteract the energy...
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"Greg (Strider) Moore" wrote in message
m...
"Brian Gaff" wrote in message ...

Does not seem to me that people are going to have to go far to get a small
one then, it seems one comes past the earth almost every three months or
so of late.


Problem of course isn't so much distance, as much relative velocity.

Just because it's close doesn't mean it's easier to get to.

An asteroid passing between the Earth and the Moon would most likely be
harder to get to than the Moon for example. (assuming you want a
soft-landing of sorts.)



http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news184.html

Small Asteroid to Pass Close by Earth on September 7 (2014 RC)

NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office
September 3, 2014

[Graphic]
This graphic depicts the passage of asteroid 2014 RC past Earth on
September 7, 2014. At time of closest approach, the space rock will be
about one-tenth the distance from Earth to the moon. Times indicated on
the graphic are Universal Time. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to the
Earth on Sunday, 7 September 2014. This small asteroid was initially
discovered on the night of 31 August by the Catalina Sky Survey near
Tucson AZ, and independently detected the next night by the Pan-STARRS 1
telescope, located on the summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii. Both
reported their observations to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, MA.
Additional follow-up observations by the Catalina Sky Survey and the
University of Hawaii 88-inch on Mauna Kea confirmed the orbit of 2014
RC. From its brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about
20 meters (60 feet) in size.

Based on current calculations, the best estimate for closest approach
will be on 7 September, 2014, at about 18:15 UTC (2:15 PM EDT) at
approximately 1/10th the distance from the Earth to the Moon, or at
about 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles). Its apparent magnitude at
closest approach will be about 11.5, rendering it unobservable to the
unaided eye. However, amateur astronomers with small telescopes might
glimpse the fast moving appearance of this near-Earth asteroid.

The asteroid will pass below the Earth and the geosynchronous ring of
communications and weather satellites orbiting 35,890 km (22,300 miles)
above our planet's surface. While this celestial object does not appear
to pose any threat to the Earth or satellites, its close approach
creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more
about asteroids.

While 2014 RC will not impact the Earth, its orbit will bring it back to
the Earth's neighborhood in the future. It's future motion will be
closely monitored but no future threatening Earth encounters have been
identified.

For a heliocentric view of the orbit of asteroid 2014 RC with respect to
the Earth and other plan ets, please see:

http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2014+RC&orb=1



--
Greg D. Moore
http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/
CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net



 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Grab-and-go insomniac stargazing laura halliday Amateur Astronomy 2 April 24th 07 12:17 AM
Grab and go Steve & Lizzie Amateur Astronomy 4 February 17th 07 12:42 AM
Good grab and go mount. [email protected] Amateur Astronomy 14 March 11th 05 04:06 PM
Astromart "Grab and Go" Tetherhorne P. Flutterblast Amateur Astronomy 7 June 4th 04 08:27 PM
Moon's up - grab the H-a filter! Dennis Persyk CCD Imaging 0 February 28th 04 07:02 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:24 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SpaceBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.