Asteroid Fly-by on September 29

[Martin]

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_040503.html

 

Toutatis comes close every 600 years and this year is one of those times.

 

On 29 September this year, it will pass 1 million miles from earth (visible with binoculars under dark sky), that is about 4 times distance to moon.

 

Toutatis is about 3 miles long and 1 and 1/2 miles wide.

 

The last encounter this close was around 1350 AD and the next close one will be around 2550 AD.

[Wolfman]

I just wonder what would happen if we were hit by something like that.

[Sayonara]

I just wonder what would happen if we were hit by something like that.

There are plenty of online impact calculators.

 

Find one, stick the parameters in (from the article), see what happens

[Martin]

I just wonder what would happen if we were hit by something like that.

 

Wouldnt you say though that mankind poses a greater threat to our planet than do asteroids. I'm trying to assess the risk of accidental death by impact versus Greenhouse Geocide, meanwhile the water is inching up on the beach.

[coquina]

The Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater is buried 400' below the surface in Southeast Virginia. It is currently under study by the US Geological Survey. The main web page is here:

 

http://geology.er.usgs.gov/eespteam/crater/

 

For an overview check out "Ancient Cataclysm" by Dr. Wylie Poag:

http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/epubs/bolide/

[osram]

Toutatis' 4-year trek around the Sun ranges from just inside the Earth's path out to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid visits us every four years.

What do you mean with 600 years?

Or you mean it's really close every 600 years?

[Martin]

What do you mean with 600 years?

Or you mean it's really close every 600 years?

 

it goes around every 4 years roughly

we go around every 1 year

but we arent in synch

so when toutatis crosses the earth orbit we usally are nowhere

around---we are somewhere else besides where it crosses.

and so it doesnt even come close to us

 

but after roughly 150 of its cycles and roughly 600 of our cycles

(these numbers are approx) it again is in synch and we are near where it makes the crossing, when it does that.

 

if you have to drive your car everyday across some railroad tracks please make sure you are not on the same schedule as the train

[MolecularMan14]

Can anyone tell me where to look for Toutatis? I do want to see it

[MolecularMan14]

I mean what region of the sky will it appear in?

[Martin]

I mean what region of the sky will it appear in?

 

Hi MolecularMan, unfortunately you may have to be fairly far south to see it.

Here is a NASA website with coordinates

 

http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/4179_Toutatis/toutatis.html

 

Maybe Australians will be able to see it. I am not sure.

 

It will be in constellation Centaurus (like the nearby star Alpha Centauri)

which means way down there by Southern Cross and all.

 

Tantalizing because the report said you might be able to see it with just a good pair of binoculars---if in the right place at right time.

[MolecularMan14]

Great, I have a few friends down under. Plus those here on the site. I'd love to get a look at it. I wonder if there are any webcams that would be able to see through a telescope, and broadcast a good look at it.

That would be pretty amazing.

[Martin]

Great' date=' I have a few friends down under. Plus those here on the site. I'd love to get a look at it. I wonder if there are any webcams that would be able to see through a telescope, and broadcast a good look at it.

That would be pretty amazing.

[/quote']

 

Here is the data given at that NASA link:

on 29 Sept at 13:37 (GMT I suppose)

coordinates

RA 14 31 33.2

Dec -59 40 29.9

 

the 13:37 is just an arbitrary time when they calculated the position for.

the postion should not change too much so even at other times it should

be around RA 14 hours 30 minutes

Declination -60 degrees.

 

It would seem to me very difficult to find unless one is a practiced amateur astronomer

 

perhaps someone will correct whatever errors I am making, but I would

assume that what one might do is this:

wait until the Australian clock says 2 hours and 31 minutes after midnight

and then look for Toutatis on the meridian (the highnoon longitude)

at about 60 degrees south of the celestial equator, or 30 degrees north along the meridian from the south pole.

 

the disadvantage of this is that one has to be awake at 2AM in the morning.

I should, at that hour, be feeling some disappointment that the rock was going to miss the earth.

[MolecularMan14]

lol, thank you. I'll pass that on to my Australian friends.