INCOMING!, Detection and observation of Earth-approaching asteroids. Options

[Paolo]

no sone seems to have noticed this yet

[climber]

Too much info kill the info! Where do we have to look? I've seen something will hit the atmosphere tonigth over Sudan, correct?

[ugordan]

Whoa! Any chance of organizing a crash observing campain from ground or even orbit?

[Holder of the Tw...]

An asteroid... well, really a meteor, is now predicted to hit the atmosphere.

First time I know we have had advanced warning on a single natural object.

MPEC report

Quote: "Steve Chesley (JPL) reports that atmospheric entry will occur on 2008
Oct 07 0246 UTC over northern Sudan."

[charborob]

Any idea how big is this rock?

[Juramike]

The absolute magnitude indicates that the
object will not survive passage through the atmosphere.

Steve Chesley (JPL) reports that atmospheric entry will occur on 2008
Oct 07 0246 UTC over northern Sudan.

Don't sell all your stocks yet, looks like we'll live to see another day....

[imipak]

Is this the first time a fireball's been predicted in advance? I was very interested in meteor observing for a few years and read a lot of stuff (it seems so in retrospect, anyway) but I don't recall ever hearing of an event like this.

For those of us who can't interpret the MPEC data or ephemerides, what does the absolute magnitude mentioned tell us about the size of this object?

[TheChemist]

Hey guys, don't just tear your swimming suits apart.

The link says that it will disintegrate in the atmosphere, as Juramike already pointed in the duplicate thread.

Why do you scare us with no reason ?

THANKS FOR POINTING OUT THE DUPLICATE - BOTH TOPICS NOW MERGED -Admin

You 're welcome !

[Holder of the Tw...]

There have been at least three revisions in the last hour, a lot of people are looking at this object.

Hard to say, but now it looks like it may be a near miss, by about a thousand miles. The latest Mpec
doesn't state whether an impact is still expected.

The absolute magnitude indicates a size of two to seven meters.

Gosh, I just mixed english and metric units in the same post.

Edit: Five meters big at most, more likely two to three. Absolute magnitude of 30.4

[climber]

30.4!!! Gona be visible over the horizont!

[Holder of the Tw...]

Space.com is now reporting the story, and says atmospheric entry is expected.

Link

The report also emphatically states that it will be destroyed at altitude, and doesn't pose a significant danger.

True enough... if it's not a nickle-iron.

[SFJCody]

I wonder if it can be imaged from orbit during entry a la Mars Phoenix? Probably too much uncertainty.

[Shaka]

From TPS:

The meteor is expected to be visible from eastern Africa as an extremely bright fireball traveling rapidly across the sky from northeast to southwest. The object is expected to enter the atmosphere over northern Sudan at a shallow angle.

"We're eager for observations from astronomers near the asteroid's approach path. We really hope that someone will manage to photograph it," said Williams.

Shoot!
My SR71 is in maintenance, or I'd be over there like a shot.

[ngunn]

It may be small and harmless, but for me knowing it is on the way represents a huge psychological milestone. It is a great achievement by those watchers of the skies who search for these objects that the fall of a meteorite need no longer take us by surprise. It feels as though in one more small way we have 'grown up' as a species. If it had been a bit larger and aimed at a suburb near you, you would already have heard when to head for the cellar (and felt quite safe out of doors until a few seconds beforehand).

[SFJCody]

I guess once LSST and PanSTARRS come online we'll get these kind of alerts fairly regularly. I imagine it will change the public perception of 'asteroid impact predicted!' headlines a lot. People will go from thinking of the end of the world to thinking of photo ops + a mad scramble for very valuable rocks.