Aimless In Space
--J.B.S. Haldane--
Rachael - Detroit - WSU
Mad Scientist-in-Training
Clastrophysicist (Classics/Astronomy/Physics)
This is my super spectacular (mostly) space blog!! I also enjoy math, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, jellyfish, Detroit, Futurama, and cats.
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Castiel, a summary
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I can’t believe I just did this!! I…me!! Miss I-Have-Trouble-Braiding-My-Hair. I know it’s not perfect, but to me it kicks ass! I kind of like it...
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They should of named astronomers Skyentists.
New dinosaur extinction theory.
Just kidding, it’s still this one.
(remixed from College Humor)
Astronomers catch video of near-miss asteroid
A small asteroid called 2012 KT42 came within three Earth radii of striking the planet on 29 May, but slipped past. The event was the sixth-closest encounter of any recorded asteroid.
In a video posted online on 19 June by researchers using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) in Hawaii, the bright asteroid appears fixed, while background stars zip past (in fact, the asteroid is speeding along at 17 kilometres per second). “You get the view of riding along with it,” says Richard Binzel, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, who led the observations. At its closest, the asteroid was around 19,000 kilometres from Earth — a distance between the orbit of the International Space Station (about 1 Earth radius) and that of a geosynchronous satellite (about 6 Earth radii).
Cannonball! =)))
Leap Day Asteroid Will Zoom By Earth
A small asteroid about the size of a house will make one cosmic leap by Earth today, just in time for leap day.
The newfound asteroid 2012 DS32 poses no chance of hitting our planet, but will make an evening pass to mark this special day for Earth, NASA scientists said.
“Happy Leap Day! Small asteroid 2012 DS32 will safely pass Earth at 7:36 p.m. EST,” astronomers with NASA’s Asteroid Watch program wrote in a Twitter post. The Asteroid Watch program is part of the Near Earth Object office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Swift Captures Flyby of Asteroid 2005 YU55
Asteroid 2005 YU55 whisks through the field of view of Swift’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) on Nov. 9, just hours after the space rock made its closest approach to Earth. The video plays on a background image from the Digital Sky Survey that shows the same region, which lies within the Great Square asterism of the constellation Pegasus.
Asteroid 2005 YU55 passes by Earth. Nov 8, 2011. From Plano TX with a 12” telescope
A 400-meter-wide asteroid created a lot of “buzz” as it buzzed by Earth, with its closest approach on November 08, 2011 at 23:28 Universal Time (UT). The Near-Earth Asteroid 2005 YU55 passed within 319,000 km (202,000 miles or 0.85 lunar distances, 0.00217 AU) from Earth’s surface. Later, it safely passed our moon at distance of 239,500 km (148,830 miles ). Astronomers from around the world trained their telescopes on this object, hoping to capture images and learn more about this dark space rock.
Above is an animation from the team of Ernesto Guido, Giovanni Sostero and Nick Howes, remotely using the the GRAS Observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico USA with a 0.25-meter telescope, f/3.4 reflector and a CCD camera. The trio said that at the moment of their observing session the asteroid was moving at about 260.07″/min and it was at magnitude ~11. You can see more images and details on their Remanzacco Observatory website.
Just In: NASA’s Latest Image of Asteroid 2005 YU55
NASA’s Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, California has captured new radar images of Asteroid 2005 YU55 as it begins its close pass by Earth. The image above was taken on Nov. 7 at 11:45 a.m. PST (2:45 p.m. EST/1945 UTC), when the asteroid was approximately 1.38 million kilometers (860,000 miles) or about 3.6 lunar distances away from Earth. It’s not a great image, but there should be better images available as the asteroid gets closer. Several telescopes will be tracking of the aircraft carrier-sized asteroid throughout the pass. Goldstone’s 230-foot-wide (70-meter) antenna has been keeping an eye on it since Nov. 4, and the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico will begin observations on Nov. 8, as the asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at 3:28 p.m. PST (6:28 p.m. EST/1128 UTC).
The Slooh telescope will be hosting a live webcast of the flyby on Nov. 8, 2011. Find out more at the Slooh Events page.
NASA Prepares for Asteroid’s Close Pass
On Tuesday, November 8, at 6:28 p.m. EST, an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will soar past our planet at a distance closer than the Moon… and NASA scientists will be watching!
2005 YU55, a 400-meter (1,300-foot) -wide C-type asteroid, was discovered in December 2005 by Robert McMillan of the Spacewatch Program at the University of Arizona, Tucson. It’s pretty much spherical in shape and dark – darker than charcoal, in fact! Scientists with NASA’s Near-Earth Objects Observation Program will begin tracking it on November 4 using the 70-meter radar telescope at the Deep Space Network in Goldstone, California , as well as with the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico beginning November 8. They will continue tracking 2005 YU55 through November 10.
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Other than the excitement it will most likely cause amongst radar astronomers, 2005 YU55 will have no physical effect on our planet.
