Tag Archives: Asteroid

A SMALL ASTEROID HITS EARTH

Space Weather News for June 4, 2018
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A SMALL ASTEROID HITS EARTH: A small asteroid hit Earth on Saturday, June 2nd, exploding in the atmosphere over Botswana before it could reach the ground. The Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona had discovered the space rock only hours earlier as it hurtled toward our planet from inside the orbit of the Moon. Sensors used to monitor rogue nuclear explosions detected the asteroid and estimated its yield near ~500 tons of TNT.

See the full video.
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Above: The bright light behind this barn in South Africa is not the Moon. It’s an asteroid exploding in the atmosphere across the border in Botswana. See the full video.
 

SURPRISE ASTEROID FLYBY

Another reason we need to get working on ways and means of dealing with asteroids that threaten life on earth.

Space Weather News for April 15, 2018
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SURPRISE ASTEROID FLYBY: With little warning, on Sunday, April 15th, a “Tunguska-class” asteroid about the size of a football field flew through the Earth-Moon system. 2018 GE3 was discovered just the day before as it plunged inward from the asteroid belt. A quick-thinking amateur astronomer in Europe was able to record a video of the asteroid as it flew by. Visit Spaceweather.com to see the movie and to learn more about this surprise visitor.

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Above: An interactive 3D orbit from NASA-JPL shows the asteroid flying past Earth.

ASTEROID TO BUZZ EARTH THIS WEEK

Space Weather News for Oct. 10, 2017
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ASTEROID TO BUZZ EARTH THIS WEEK: Four years ago, a house-sized asteroid tore through the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, and exploded.  Shock waves shattered windows and knocked down onlookers as fragments of the disintegrating space rock peppered the Ural countryside. This week an asteroid about the same size is approaching Earth. It will not hit our planet, but it’s coming very close. On Oct. 12, 2017, the speeding space rock, named “2012 TC4,” will skim just above the zone of Earth’s geosynchronous communications satellites and briefly become a target for amateur telescopes. Learn more about the flyby on today’s edition of Spaceweather.com.

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Above: An artist’s concept of asteroid 2012 TC4 flying past Earth on Oct. 12, 2017.


SPACECRAFT BUZZES EARTH EN ROUTE TO ASTEROID

Space Weather News for Sept. 21, 2017
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SPACECRAFT BUZZES EARTH EN ROUTE TO ASTEROID: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is going to fly past Earth on Sept. 22nd only 10,711 miles away. The daring maneuver will slingshot the probe toward Bennu, a large asteroid that could threaten our planet in the next century. OSIRIS-REx is going to take a closer look at this potentially hazardous space rock and, if all goes as planned, return samples of it to Earth. At closest approach, the spacecraft could become bright enough for advanced amateur astronomers to photograph using backyard telescopes. Observing tips and more information are highlighted on today’s edition of Spaceweather.com.

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Above: The ground track of OSIRIS-REx’s Sept. 22nd flyby. During the hours around closest approach, the spacecraft should shine with as much reflected sunlight as a 9th to 11th magnitude star. [more]


We are Not alone!

Astronomers have discovered an asteroid that shares our orbit.



A small asteroid has been discovered in an orbit around the sun that keeps it as a constant companion of Earth, and it will remain so for centuries to come. Full story at http://go.nasa.gov/1UdQoAF