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[brian577]

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s...loween-asteroid-a-treat-for-radar-astronomers

NASA scientists are tracking the upcoming Halloween flyby of asteroid 2015 TB145 with several optical observatories and the radar capabilities of the agency's Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California. The asteroid will fly past Earth at a safe distance slightly farther than the moon's orbit on Oct. 31 at 10:05 a.m. PDT (1:05 p.m. EDT). Scientists are treating the flyby of the estimated 1,300-foot-wide (400-meter) asteroid as a science target of opportunity, allowing instruments on "spacecraft Earth" to scan it during the close pass.

Asteroid 2015 TB145 was discovered on Oct. 10, 2015, by the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS-1 (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) on Haleakala, Maui, part of the NASA-funded Near-Earth Object Observation (NEOO) Program. According to the catalog of near-Earth objects (NEOs) kept by the Minor Planet Center, this is the closest currently known approach by an object this large until asteroid 1999 AN10, at about 2,600 feet (800 meters) in size, approaches at about 1 lunar distance (238,000 miles from Earth) in August 2027.

“The trajectory of 2015 TB145 is well understood," said Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "At the point of closest approach, it will be no closer than about 300,000 miles -- 480,000 kilometers or 1.3 lunar distances. Even though that is relatively close by celestial standards, it is expected to be fairly faint, so night-sky Earth observers would need at least a small telescope to view it."

Having some serious doubts about our early warning systems.

 

[fredrancour]

"serious doubts?" yeah. space, even the portion right around us, is huge. watching it all isn't currently feasible.

 

[liquidtmd]

“The trajectory of 2015 TB145 is well understood,"

discovered 10 days ago

This thing we just found, it's fiiiiiine!

 

[ced]

They gave you 10 days to craw in your bunker.

It is scary stuff though.

 

[xxracerxx]

Having some serious doubts about our early warning systems.

So you want a warning every time something flies by, even if it is well out of striking distance?

 

[brian577]

So you want a warning every time something flies by, even if it is well out of striking distance?

No, just wish we would be a little more observant to what's right under our noses.

 

[dejay]

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s...loween-asteroid-a-treat-for-radar-astronomers


Having some serious doubts about our early warning systems.

Lobby governments and shit if you're worried. It's not a matter of if, but when.

I'm banking on the fact that I'll probably be dead before the next big one hits.

 

[Reverend Funk]

We should try and catch it with a big net.

 

[Monster Zero]

It'll burn up in our atmosphere and what's ever left will be no bigger than a Chihuahua's head

 

[LookAtMeGo]

1.3 lunar distances eh? Thing probly has a uncertainty distance of 0.3 lunar distances. Bye moon.

 

[Animator]

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s...loween-asteroid-a-treat-for-radar-astronomers


Having some serious doubts about our early warning systems.

Lol early warning for what? Astreoids? What are you going to do if there was one, escape the planet before it hits?

 

[jambo]

No, just wish we would be a little more observant to what's right under our noses.

Space is reall fucking big.

Like... BIG.

 

[Svafnir]

No, just wish we would be a little more observant to what's right under our noses.

Pretty much impossible. Space is uh, large. We could easily miss an asteroid until the point it hits us.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Lol early warning for what? Astreoids? What are you going to do if there was one, escape the planet before it hits?

Send Bruce Willis to save us all.

 

[xxracerxx]

No, just wish we would be a little more observant to what's right under our noses.

Space is not under our noses...10 days out seems really reasonable to me for such a small object.

 

[Chichikov]

Lol early warning for what? Astreoids? What are you going to do if there was one, escape the planet before it hits?

We have the technology to deflect asteroids much bigger than this one if we detect them early enough.
Early warning is really the key here, we can and should do better at that.

 

[Psxphile]

It'll burn up in our atmosphere and what's ever left will be no bigger than a Chihuahua's head

 

[Shaanyboi]

It'll burn up in our atmosphere and what's ever left will be no bigger than a Chihuahua's head

 

[Volimar]

I remember watching a special that said that there were more people working at the average McDonalds than were looking for near earth asteroids. I hope that's no longer true, but people just don't understand how big SPAAAAAACE is.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

WHAT IF OUR GRAVITATIONAL FIELD PULLS IT TO US!?

PANIC PANIC PANIC.

 

[ponpo]

So be it.

 

[VanquishUK]

WHAT IF OUR GRAVITATIONAL FIELD PULLS IT TO US!?

PANIC PANIC PANIC.

 

[Two Words]

No, just wish we would be a little more observant to what's right under our noses.

It is impossible to cover everything.

 

[Lach]

Some people just don't realize that we don't know a lot of the smaller objects in our solar system and the discovery of "smaller" asteroids around earth.

Check out this video, visualizing the discovery of asteroids between 1980 and 2012. Just look at how many discoveries have been near to earth just between 2010 and 2012....

Of course the video makes it look a lot more crowded than it actually is and space is a big place. Everything passing at more than 0.5 lunar distance is nothing to worry about...

[edit] maybe should post the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJsUDcSc6hE

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

This is the only reason we should stock pile nukes. To blow the big ones out the sky.

 

[BouncyFrag]

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s...loween-asteroid-a-treat-for-radar-astronomers


Having some serious doubts about our early warning systems.

A canary in a coal mine puts to shame whatever system we've got.

 

[Tesseract]

there's a reason complex ionosphere destroyer arrays are being built en masse

fucking sky quakes, man

 

[LookAtMeGo]

No, just wish we would be a little more observant to what's right under our noses.

I agree that governments should all put more money to observing and exploring space but we are too busy fighting wars. Fear is a great way to get people to fund things so maybe we just need to take a decent hit before people give a shit.

 

[jiggle]

Phew
Not before ffviir kthxbai

 

[Shotgun Kiss]

WHAT IF OUR GRAVITATIONAL FIELD PULLS IT TO US!?

PANIC PANIC PANIC.

There's no such thing as gravity in space. If there was, all the planets would fall down.

 

[Ethelwulf]

WHAT IF OUR GRAVITATIONAL FIELD PULLS IT TO US!?

PANIC PANIC PANIC.

Technically, it is being pulled (falling) by our gravitational filed, though it's trajectory is highly predictable so no need to worry.

There's no such thing as gravity in space.

Is this a joke?

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

What kind of space powers do I get if an asteroid manages to crack the moon someday?

 

[davepoobond]

Why we still got a moon?

 

[Daedardus]

Actual distance between earth and moon for scale.

 

[TheChewyWaffles]

Actual distance between earth and moon for scale.

What is this...a solar system for ANTS??

 

[Lovely Salsa]

Did scientists predict the asteroid that struck russia? No they didnt

 

[industrian]

It's a big-ass sky.

 

[ClayKavalier]

1.3 lunar distances eh? Thing probly has a uncertainty distance of 0.3 lunar distances. Bye moon.

What would happen if something like that hit the moon? I know the moon's gravitational pull affects tides, but does it do anything else that influences life on earth?

 

[Symphonia]

Actual distance between earth and moon for scale.

Well, that's only a stones throw away.

 

[dabig2]

What would happen if something like that hit the moon? I know the moon's gravitational pull affects tides, but does it do anything else that influences life on earth?

It helps give us our 24 hour days by stabilizing the earth's rotation.

 

[mrkgoo]

I was just wondering, we have a bunch of pop culture dealing with what if an asteroid hits earth...but what happens if some astro-body were to collide with our moon and destroy it...what would actually happen to us?

 

[Ethelwulf]

There's no such thing as gravity in space. If there was, all the planets would fall down.

This is not true at all. You should think of gravity as Einsten suggested. Mass bends space proportional to its magnitude. In fact, Earth is falling to the Sun all the time, and the Sun is falling to the center of the galaxy as we speak. Same for the International Space Station with respect to the Earth. A proper explanation for the illusion of no gravity in space, is due to the fact that any of these objects are moving away with the same velocity. So yeah, the Earth is moving away from the Sun with the same relative velocity with which is being pulled towards the Sun.

 

[Übermatik]

I was just wondering, we have a bunch of pop culture dealing with what if an asteroid hits earth...but what happens if some astro-body were to collide with our moon and destroy it...what would actually happen to us?

Dawn of the Third Day.

 

[darkinstinct]

We have the technology to deflect asteroids much bigger than this one if we detect them early enough.
Early warning is really the key here, we can and should do better at that.

We may have that technology in theory. But nowadays we would need a warning time of five years to do something and even then chances are slim. It's not a question if a large asteroid hits Earth, only when.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

What would happen if something like that hit the moon? I know the moon's gravitational pull affects tides, but does it do anything else that influences life on earth?

I don't know how big it would have to be and fast something would have to be traveling to destabilize the moons orbit. I dont think a stadium sized asteroid would do too much. Im guessing it would have to be at least a few kilometers wide and have a high velocity. Thats just a guess though. The moon is pretty big.

 

[darkinstinct]

This is the only reason we should stock pile nukes. To blow the big ones out the sky.

And make them break into multiple objects with no predictable trajectory that most likely do multiple times the damage? Bad idea. Only possible solution is to change their trajectory, preferably by installing thrusters on them and pushing them ever so slightly away.

 

[Gnome]

And make them break into multiple objects with no predictable trajectory that most likely do multiple times the damage? Bad idea. Only possible solution is to change their trajectory, preferably by installing thrusters on them and pushing them ever so slightly away.

Smaller objects are more likely to burn up in the atmosphere if they get too close, they wouldn't do more damage than one big object. Also, if hit correctly the nuke blast could be used to also change the trajectory of the critical area of mass.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Lol early warning for what? Astreoids? What are you going to do if there was one, escape the planet before it hits?

lol this.

an early warning would only serve to give us an opportunity to get our affairs in order, get one last dick sucking and eat as many chicken wings as you can find. tbqh, I'd rather just be surprised.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

The thing is the size of a stadium that's TINY and it's really REALLY hard to track items that small.

 

[Marz]

Yea think of an actual stadium guys thats not that big at all in the grand scheme of things.

Let me know when continent-sized asteroids start passing by though.