Asteroid Watch - 2002 CU11

When have I ever been a "doom comet tard?" I've been debunking false "comet doom" the whole time I've been here.

Slightly off topic here Astro, but could you let me know if I would be able to get a good view of that siding spring comet making its pass by Mars in October?

I have this telescope and the goto.

[link to www.jessops.com]

Have had it a couple of years and am quite familiar with most aspects of it now, so locating something shouldn't be a problem, but is the telescope powerful enough for the job?



thanks

It's going to be tricky, Mars and the comet will be quite low and the brightness of Mars will make it difficult to observe. Certainly worth a shot though.

...2002 CU11 is a potentially hazardous asteroid discovered by the LINEAR survey in 2002... this year it makes a close pass by earth. This will be the closest pass it will make prior to 2049, and in fact we now know that this pass will be much closer than the one in 2049. On August 30th it will pass earth at 13.5 times the distance to the moon...

Astro actually gives you guys a possible heads up and you all decide to trash him?

Dude can't win here.

this is definitely a biggie

1 km would be equal to around 100 football stadiums

I fail to see how an asteroid (no matter how big) is described as "potentially hazardous" when its closest approach to the Earth will be at 5.4 MILLION km...

Instead of fear mongering by saying it will pass Earth at 13.5 times the distance to the Moon, why not say it will pass 1/8th the mean distance between Earth...and Venus! (and count the yawns that gets you).

Get real, Son.

quite low... damn not good :(

do you know what magnitude it will be at?

JPL predicts about magnitude 10.

Well mag 10 will be far too dim for me I think. Will you be doing a webcast on siding spring?

Thanks for your help btw

Astro do you frequent a group on Facebook called astronomy and astrophotography addicts? It's a fantastic group where your work would be much more appreciated.

I fail to see how an asteroid (no matter how big) is described as "potentially hazardous" when its closest approach to the Earth will be at 5.4 MILLION km...

Instead of fear mongering by saying it will pass Earth at 13.5 times the distance to the Moon, why not say it will pass 1/8th the mean distance between Earth...and Venus! (and count the yawns that gets you).

Get real, Son.

No, I much prefer to interact with my fellow amateur astronomers in real world space. I love a good star party, no place else I'd rather be. Not only do I get to see everyone else's photos, but I get to examine the equipment up close and even watch them take and process the images. I learned a lot more that way than I ever would have from a facebook group.

:itsscience:
vs this:
Thread: Please help me figure out what kind of CANDY this is
Interesting thread there, really demonstrates that you have a vibrant "life" yourself.
:gtfo001:

Hey genius, I didn't decide that it was a PHA.
[link to www.minorplanetcenter.org]
[link to neo.jpl.nasa.gov]
It's a term used for any asteroid meeting certain orbital and physical conditions, namely any with a minimum orbit intersect distance less than or equal to 0.05 AU and an absolute magnitude (correlates with size) brighter than or equal to 22. MOID on this one is 0.000344405 AU and the absolute magnitude is 18.3. I never claimed this approach was dangerous or dangerously close, it's not. But it is firmly in the realm of being a PHA by the definition of the term and it is listed as such. I am not fear mongering.

2002 CU11 is a potentially hazardous asteroid discovered by the LINEAR survey in 2002. It's exact size is not yet known, but is somewhere between about half a km and 1.3 km in diameter. At the time it was discovered in 2002 there was about a 1 in 9300 chance that it would hit earth in 2049. The impact of such a large asteroid at such a high velocity would create an explosion of about 53,000 megatons. Such a blast would make a complex crater (with a central peak like what you see in large craters on the moon) about 14 km wide. The heat from the fireball would instantly burn anything for hundreds of km's around it. Definitely doomy.

Continued observations of the asteroid ruled out the impact later that year, but this year it makes a close pass by earth. This will be the closest pass it will make prior to 2049, and in fact we now know that this pass will be much closer than the one in 2049. On August 30th it will pass earth at 13.5 times the distance to the moon. It's not the closest pass we'll have this year, but it's still an interesting one from a fairly large NEO that could really do some damage if it were to hit earth. I'll be webcasting this object on the morning of August 29th or 30th depending on the weather. Stay tuned for more details.

Astro, don't allow yourself to be affected by those trolls... And remember, in the middle of so many haters, there are always those that are grateful to you for dedicating so much of your time and knowledge with all of us.. Regards from the other side of the ocean ;)

hit earth in 2049

I will be by then

this isn't apophis right dr astro?

Astro is kind of like the opposite of the boy who cried wolf, so when he says something like this pay attention!

Dr. Astro I have a few questions:

1. How accurate are predictions of distance of an asteroid's approach?

2. What are the factors that muddy the ability to accurately hone in on a very exact distance?

3. Are there factors that can alter an asteroid's trajectory and how do scientists account for those in their projections (or do they?)?

Thanks! :)

2002 CU11 is a potentially hazardous asteroid discovered by the LINEAR survey in 2002. It's exact size is not yet known, but is somewhere between about half a km and 1.3 km in diameter. At the time it was discovered in 2002 there was about a 1 in 9300 chance that it would hit earth in 2049. The impact of such a large asteroid at such a high velocity would create an explosion of about 53,000 megatons. Such a blast would make a complex crater (with a central peak like what you see in large craters on the moon) about 14 km wide. The heat from the fireball would instantly burn anything for hundreds of km's around it. Definitely doomy.

Continued observations of the asteroid ruled out the impact later that year, but this year it makes a close pass by earth. This will be the closest pass it will make prior to 2049, and in fact we now know that this pass will be much closer than the one in 2049. On August 30th it will pass earth at 13.5 times the distance to the moon. It's not the closest pass we'll have this year, but it's still an interesting one from a fairly large NEO that could really do some damage if it were to hit earth. I'll be webcasting this object on the morning of August 29th or 30th depending on the weather. Stay tuned for more details.