Earth narrowly missed by asteroid first detected only a few hours before.
44 replies, posted
[url]http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a22619/earth-narrowly-missed-by-asteroid/[/url]
[quote]On Saturday, astronomers discovered a new asteroid, just a few hours before it almost hit us.
The asteroid is called 2016 QA2, and it missed the Earth by less than a quarter of the distance to the moon. That puts it about three times as far away from Earth as our farthest satellites. And we never saw it coming.[/quote]
[QUOTE=Orkel;50980142][url]http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a22619/earth-narrowly-missed-by-asteroid/[/url][/QUOTE]
So that's it I guess.
"Giant Meteor 2016" just had to go and drop out of the race didn't he?
It's all up to you "Deez Nutz".
Doesn't the moon take quite a battering for us as well?
Slightly bigger than the meteor which struck Chelyabinsk.
What was the diameter of the asteroid?
If only it killed us all. Better luck in 2020, Asteroid
[QUOTE=MILKE;50980176]What was the diameter of the asteroid?[/QUOTE]
Says in the article. They stated about 50-100 feet.
[QUOTE=MILKE;50980176]What was the diameter of the asteroid?[/QUOTE]
[quote]Astronomers think 2016 QA2 is between [B]80 and 180 feet (25 to 55 meters) wide[/B].
The Chelyabinsk asteroid was probably 65 feet (20 m)[/quote]
[editline]31st August 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=Llamaguy;50980186]Says in the article. They stated about 100-150 feet.[/QUOTE]
Seems to vary by article, some say 80-180 and some 50-100.
So, what would it even have down if it hit?
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;50980207]So, what would it even have down if it hit?[/QUOTE]
A lot of cool dashcam footage and broken windows.
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;50980207]So, what would it even have down if it hit?[/QUOTE]
Depends where it hit. If it hit a city then it would have killed a lot of people.
[QUOTE=Orkel;50980188][editline]31st August 2016[/editline]
Seems to vary by article, some say 80-180 and some 50-100.[/QUOTE]
That is scary, considering they think the Tunguska one is thought to been somewhere between 60 to 190 metres (200 to 620 feet).
it's pretty scary to think we still can't see asteroids about to his us with all the technology we have
[QUOTE=TheDrunkenOne;50980295]it's pretty scary to think we still can't see asteroids about to his us with all the technology we have[/QUOTE]
Not surprising. There are hundreds of thousands out there (probably an understatement). Our solar system is absolutely littered with them. But we can only see them under certain conditions. Don't forget rogue objects that enter the solar system and just add to the pile we already have.
Why the fuck does this keep happening.
That would have been the nail into the coffin for 2016.
[QUOTE=ThePunisher1;50980167]Doesn't the moon take quite a battering for us as well?[/QUOTE]
The moon is the real mvp
The bugs were too close for comfort on this one, time to enlist!
[QUOTE=TheDrunkenOne;50980295]it's pretty scary to think we still can't see asteroids about to his us with all the technology we have[/QUOTE]
Asteroids are incredibly hard to see as it is. Considering even sunlight can change the course of an asteroid, it's fair to say it's tough work locating one and its trajectory :v:
[QUOTE=RootingaSmurf;50980392]The moon is the real mvp[/QUOTE]
lets not forget Jupiter out there in the distance being a big bro shield
[QUOTE=Orkel;50980270]A lot of cool dashcam footage and broken windows.[/QUOTE]
The one in Russia exploded in air 30 km from ground and it was smaller than this one. I am no expert, but there would probably be more damage than that.
[QUOTE=Wikipedia]On account of its high velocity and shallow angle of atmospheric entry, the object exploded in an air burst over Chelyabinsk Oblast, at a height of around 29.7 km (18.4 miles, 97,400 feet).[7][8] The explosion generated a bright flash, producing a hot cloud of dust and gas that penetrated to 26.2 km, and many surviving small fragmentary meteorites, as well as a large shock wave. [U]The bulk of the object's energy was absorbed by the atmosphere, with a total kinetic energy before atmospheric impact equivalent to approximately 500 kilotons of TNT (about 1.8 PJ), 20–30 times more energy than was released from the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima.[/U][/QUOTE]
Even if it were detected, what could be done to stop it?
[QUOTE=PaChIrA;50980548]Even if it were detected, what could be done to stop it?[/QUOTE]
a really big slingshot
[QUOTE=PaChIrA;50980548]Even if it were detected, what could be done to stop it?[/QUOTE]
Absolutely nothing. But the governments would be able to run to their bunkers at least.
[QUOTE=PaChIrA;50980548]Even if it were detected, what could be done to stop it?[/QUOTE]
If it were to hit a large population center, said center could be evacuated.
If we keep defunding NASA and other space agencies, we are opening ourselves up to disaster that could have been completely avoided, or at least mitigated
[QUOTE=MadBomber;50980521]lets not forget Jupiter out there in the distance being a big bro shield[/QUOTE]
Jupiter ain't close enough to warrant our appreciation, for all the shit the moon takes for us it should warrant an international get fucked day
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;50980207]So, what would it even have down if it hit?[/QUOTE]
It's believed by some that the Great Chicago fire, a fire that nearly leveled the city of Chicago and killed many, was actually caused by such a meteor.
In particular, this is added credence by the fact that small towns surrounding Chicago experienced sudden, intense fires completely unrelated to the Chicago fire, one town even being so immediately engulfed in flame that it's residence simply evacuated in to a river in the middle of town to survive (and many suffocated there due to the fire's intensity.)
If this had directly hit a populated area, probably quite a lot of property damage and it could have killed quite a number of people. If it hit near a populated area, probably would have leveled some trees and people would hear a large bang. If it comes down over water which is the most likely outcome then really it does nothing but scare some fish.
[QUOTE=mecaguy03;50980874]If this had directly hit a populated area, probably quite a lot of property damage and it could have killed quite a number of people. If it hit near a populated area, probably would have leveled some trees and people would hear a large bang. If it comes down over water which is the most likely outcome then really it does nothing but scare some fish.[/QUOTE]
a 25m (or bigger) rock flying through the atmosphere at god knows what speed would do a hell of a lot more damage than knock down some trees
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