Space Weather

[thelufias]

Reminds me of the statement made on the Movie.....Armageddon:

President: Damn, we didn't see this thing coming?

Truman: Well, our object collision budget's about a million dollars a year. That allows us to track about 3% of the sky, and begging your pardon sir, but it's a big-ass sky.

[thelufias]

If you ever want to go exploring space....this is a good hands on place to visit:

Solar System Exploration

[sidherose]

Reminds me of the statement made on the Movie.....Armageddon:

President: Damn, we didn't see this thing coming?

Truman: Well, our object collision budget's about a million dollars a year. That allows us to track about 3% of the sky, and begging your pardon sir, but it's a big-ass sky.

You got that right!

I couldn't get to the site before. I was wondering if it's coming back around as asteroids and comets do, if they don't meet a flaming death first.

[sidherose]

If you ever want to go exploring space....this is a good hands on place to visit:

Solar System Exploration

That's a pretty cool site. Was reading about Venus. It's such a weird planet. Such a hot planet!

And Jupiter is the 800 pound gorilla

[thelufias]

As of yesterday, no rotational lightcurve of 2018 GE3 has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown....

And yes...that is a pretty cool place to visit.  That's the first thing the kids ask to see when they see me on the laptop....which is only when they first arrive LOLOL....After that it's KIDS time....

[Jherrith]

A SPECIAL CONJUNCTION OF THE MOON AND JUPITER: This weekend, the Moon and Jupiter are converging in the constellation Libra for their brightest conjunction of the year. When the Moon becomes full on Sunday night, April 29th, only 5 degrees will separate the pair, which means they would fit with room to spare inside the bowl of the Big Dipper:




Conjunctions between the Moon and Jupiter are not uncommon--but this one is special. It's happening only days before Jupiter's closest approach to Earth in early May. As a result of its proximity, Jupiter is shining brighter than any star in the night night. For instance, on the night of the conjunction Jupiter will be almost 3 times brighter than brilliant Sirius. The giant planet will have no trouble being seen next to the glaring full Moon.

Finding the conjunction is easy. Just look east-southeast after sunset. You'll see the Moon and Jupiter rising together as a pair. They will remain visible all night long, highest in the sky at midnight, but beautiful at any time. Enjoy the show!

[sidherose]

I was noticing they were kind of close last night. Cool! and Thanks, J.

[thelufias]

To cloudy last night to see anything....but it's nice and clear tonight....might take a trip up the hill.  Thanks "J"

[Aelin]

Last night it was without clouds and I saw moon when I closed stores, but didn't more take care and tonight we have clouds. So tomorrow will be a surprise - at condition the forecast weather is wrong again 
Thanks for the info!

[thelufias]

‘Lost’ asteroid to pass closely May 15

Asteroid 2010 WC9 will safely pass at about half’s the moon’s distance on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Estimates of its size range from 197 to 427 feet (60-130 meters), making the May 15 pass one of the closest approaches ever observed of an asteroid of this size. This asteroid was “lost” and then found again. The Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona first detected it on November 30, 2010, and astronomers watched it until December 10, when it became too faint to see. They didn’t have enough observations to track its orbit fully and so predict its return. On May 8, 2018 – almost eight years later – astronomers discovered an asteroid and gave it the temporary designation ZJ99C60. Then they realized it was asteroid 2010 WC9, returning.

During the 2018 return, closest approach of asteroid 2010 WC9 will happen on May 15 at 22:05 UTC (6:05 pm EDT; translate to your time). At that time, the asteroid will be 0.53 lunar-distances from Earth (126,419 miles or 203,453 km from Earth). According to orbit calculations made by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the May 15 close approach is the closest of this particular asteroid in nearly 300 years.

Is this a large asteroid? No, not by any absolute measure. But it is larger than the estimated size of the Chelyabinsk meteor, which entered Earth’s atmosphere, breaking windows in six Russian cities and causing some 1,500 people to seek medical attention, in 2013. Estimates of asteroid 2010 WC9’s diameter range from 197 to 427 feet (60-130 meters); estimates of the Chelyabinsk meteor’s size before encountering Earth’s atmosphere center around 65 feet (20 meters).

Asteroid 2010 WC9 is an Apollo type space rock. At no time will it be visible to the eye as it sweeps past Earth. It might get as bright as magnitude +11, which would make it bright enough to be seen in amateur telescopes pointed at the correct location and time.

Asteroid 2010 WC9 is travelling though space at a speed of 28,655 miles per hour (46,116 km/h).

Asteroid 2010 WC9 at Minor Planet Center; at CNEOS

Want to view the asteroid online? Guy Wells at Northolt Branch Observatories in London, England – which specializes in observations of near-Earth asteroids and other small solar system objects – emailed EarthSky on Friday to say: 

We are planning to broadcast this asteroid live to our Facebook page on the night of May 14, likely around midnight, if the weather forecast remains positive. The broadcast will be less than 25 minutes in duration, as the asteroid will cross our field of view within that period of time. The asteroid will be moving quite rapidly (30 arcseconds per minute). Our display will update every five seconds. We are of course collecting astrometric data while this is happening, but the motion of the asteroid will be apparent every five seconds!