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SKY WATCHERS TAKE note: An asteroid is going to shoot across the sky on 5 March — and it may come close enough that you can actually see it with a telescope.
Before you panic: no, it’s not going to hit us — though it’s going to come tantalisingly close.
The rock in question is asteroid 2013 TX68, which swooped by Earth at a safe 1.3 million miles away two years ago. It is now slated to fly by our planet again in a few weeks as it’s been locked in an orbit around the sun — though this time it may come much, much closer to Earth.
How close? That’s hard to say, given that we’ve only had a limited time to track this rocky space object since we discovered it back in October 2013.
And while Nasa isn’t quite sure of the rock’s trajectory — it could swing as close as 11,000 miles (17,700km) from Earth or as far as nine million miles (14.5 million km) away — they say ”there is no possibility” that it will impact Earth this time around.
That’s great, for now.
Asteroid 2013 TX68 — which measures about 100 feet in diameter, the size of an airplane — is slated to pay us another visit on 28 September 2017. At that time, Nasa predicts, there is in fact a chance it could hit us.
Though the chance is small — about one in 250 million — the same odds of being killed by a falling coconut.
Here is a graphical representation of the potential paths asteroid 2013 TX68 could take at the time of its closest approach on 5 March. At its furthest, it could speed by at a distant nine million miles away, which you can see on the left of the graphic. This would be too far away to see with a telescope.
But if it does come within 11,000 miles of Earth, as sketched out on the right side of the graphic, avid skywatchers just may be able to check out this speedy piece of space debris.
Asteroid fly-bys happen all the time. If you’re curious about the stats on all of them, check out Nasa’s Near Earth Object Programme page here.
- Julia Calderone, Tech Insider
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Let’s burn down the observatory make sure this never happens again!
Haha
Perhaps we should launch a space ship to intercept it and plant a nuclear device to blow it up
Will end up no bigger than a Chihuahuas head
I wonder could we point it in the direction of fg hq._.
Fg would probably blame the ira
So every 2 years it gets closer?
Your full name would Saint James I take it? You’d have no time for d’oul science like just burn them all at the stake
The key is to always wear a hard hat when you’re near a coconut tree.
Time to panic people. I can see it now. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!
Don’t forget Mr Stay Puft!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
I wait for Garabandal first… I think…
Just send Bruce Willis and Ben Afleck up…sorted!
I dunno… Who brings a into space?
If you didn’t bring a into space, you’d just have spce.
If it wasnt for asteroids, we wouldn’t be aware of asteroids. Any Dinasaur will tell you that !
Moss nearly destroyed all life on this planet once by effecting the oxygen content of the planet… A strange fact…
We’re well overdue Micheal, who knows when ?
Never mind the Asteroid my Haemoroids are killing me
Are they circling Uranus?
So you say “my Haemorrhoids are killing me” are they GM by any way lol.
Love the way they compare the odds of impact with the odds of being killed by a coconut. One coconut isn’t going to plunge us back into the stone age.
Either would the asteroid, it’s the same size as the one that hit Russia a few years back, the one they didn’t see coming?
Tell that to the poor fùckers who get obliterated by it Mal.
I e got a lovely bunch of coconuts !
Depends what it hits as what speed? Sellafield lol.
Their predictions are: as far as 14.5m miles away and as close as 11,000 miles. That’s some plus or minus . But they are absolutely sure it’s not going to hit. Fair enough . And even if it does hit it’ll probably be a soft landing.
The Department of Finance have a similar way of estimating our budget surpluses and deficit it seems.
The hangover I have right now I wish it would just smash into us.
Ha ha funny. Alcoholic ha ha.. did you smash it?
Fancy a pint later gabs?
Surely i’m seldom drunk but I’m never sober!
Where we meeting? I won’t be happy unless I come home with a smelly finger.
A near miss by a massive comet is just the kind of reality check humanity needs…
Between 9 million miles and 11,000 miles is a margin of error of 4.5 million miles.
As that margin of error is less than the closest to earth predicted, I would say they have no clue and it may hit us.
9 million miles is 10% of the distance from here to the sun.
11,000 miles is only twice the diameter of the earth, or just a trip from here to Sydney
11 thousand really isn’t that much. Frightening
Hocus pocus – asteroids don’t exist. All this ‘science’ proves nothing. When they’re not making up this nonsense they’re out there planting ‘dinosaur’ fossils.
THE SKY IS A PAINTING!
Standby for the gravitational waves.
Hope it doesn’t knock the GPO or the shinners will be blamed
At 100 feet in diameter it would take out most of the city never mind the GPO.
There could be an article about a kitten playing with a fluffy ball of wool and somebody still manages to bring politics into it. This article has NOTHING to do with Sinn Fein so just stop it. For the love of god stop it!!!
Every article on here turns in to fg vs sf. It’s all the paid party bell ends.
Who doesn’t like to see pussies playing with balls WJH ?
Good point P-anti.
May not hit us in 2017 but what about the next time it comes around. Is it getting closer and what sort of damage would it do?
Total…
Sorry it’s only 100ft , could cause movement in plates and cause earthquakes, could wipe out a city .
730 days to live.
It would cause local damage, if it’s over a kilometre wide start to worry, two km we’re going to get warm and then cold. The biggest on found to date is five and a half km wide and if that hit it would be bye bye love, bye bye sweet caress, hello emptiness, I think we all will die.
Hopefully Jupiter will take care of it for us.
Dave you are on dangerous ground around here stating facts.
It’s not that much bigger that the one over Russia a couple of years ago (20-30 metres) so it should mostly breakup in the atmosphere. It could cause some damage depending on where it hits but I think we can stand Bruce and Ben down for now.
Twould give you a bump if it landed on your head alright.
Oh no, I haven’t finished my mortgage!!!
I like the way no one is admitted to writing this scare mongering rubbish, would you not do what reputable media outlets done and tell people it’s the same size as the one that hit Russia a few years ago, so even if it did hit us it wouldn’t be the end of life as we know it, well it would be if it hit you directly, but the earth and the rest of life would go on.
The one your referring to in Russia was estimated to be 20-30 meters. This 100 meters.
Julie Colderone wrote the article, her name is printed at the end. She works for the ‘Business Insider’ also stated at the end of the article. Seems pretty clear who wrote it and where it was first published to me.
100 feet.
Aaaaaaasaaaaagh!!!!!!!
Get onto Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck there sure be grand.
I be more worried about one hitting the Sun made of dark matter?
“is slated to pay us another visit on 28 September 2017″
What does that mean?
While this may miss there is an asteroid out there with the Earth’s name on it. Hope it doesn’t happen in my life time but we may get ready..
The usual non-story.
Joking aside.
It is actually quite easy to divert an asteroid.
You just need to give it a small kick when it is several million miles away.
That kick will change its orbit and it will miss the earth.
A miss is not a hit.
The trouble is.
How do we get out there to deliver that kick?
P.S.
The thrusters routinely used to position satellites can easily nudge a Mount Everest sized asteroid out of the way provided that we install them when when the asteroid is several million miles away.
All it takes is a nudge to make it a “near-miss” rather than Armageddon.
That won’t work if the asteroid is already bearing down on us.
Start Praying to your chosen god if that happens.
A very real possibility that these events could be the biggest threat to our planet. Some great work done by these guys on the topic. https://youtu.be/aDejwCGdUV8
OMG we are all going to be killed by falling coconuts.
You can only get
the final word with a woman
if an asteroid destroys our planet
the moment you finish speaking.
Supposing it hit earth what damage would it cause?
The same instruments FG used to measure the fiscal deficit?
Hope it doesn’t, hit Burdocks.
have your say