# NASA warns of cosmic rock travelling at ludicrous velocity



## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 21, 2015)

A large asteroid is set to pass Earth on Halloween, surprising astronomers who only discovered it two weeks ago. The asteroid, which measures up to 2,000ft in diameter, will flyby Earth at a distance of around 310,000 miles, or 1.3 lunar distances – the largest object to come so close to our planet in recent years.






artists impression obviously


Despite its size, the asteroid – called 2015 TB145 – was found just three weeks before its closest approach by astronomers using the Pan-STARRS I telescope in Hawaii




http://pan-starrs.ifa.hawaii.edu/public/
Nasa said it is the biggest asteroid to come this close to Earth until 2027.

"The asteroid is on an extremely eccentric and a high inclination orbit," the space agency said in a statement, possibly explaining why it avoided detection until two weeks ago. "This is the closest approach by a known object this large until 1999 AN10 approaches within one lunar distance in August 2027. The last approach closer than this by an object with H < 20 was by 2004 XP14 in July 2006 at 1.1 lunar distances."

Nasa said preliminary estimations suggest the asteroid is between 689 and 2,133ft in diameter and is travelling at around 126,000km/h. It should be visible with a telescope and will pass the constellation of Orion on 30 and 31 October. Nasa said it hopes to obtain high resolution images of the asteroid as it passes.

The asteroid's flyby comes as prominent scientists call for more research into asteroid-tracking technology to protect the planet from unknown space rocks. It is currently estimated we have detected around 1% of asteroids bigger than 40m that could pose a risk to Earth.

The discovery of 2015 TB145 also follows the announcement that Nasa had terminated its partnership with the B612 Foundation, an privately funded organisation hoping to launch the asteroid-hunting Sentinel satellite.

Nasa spokesman Dave Steitz told Space Policy Online: "Due to limited resources, Nasa can no longer afford to reserve funds [for the project]. Nasa believes it is in the best interest of both parties to terminate this agreement but remains open to future opportunities to collaborate with the B612 Foundation."





(this is a gif and not what is actually going to happen.)  i hope.


Tin hat time


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## 95Viper (Oct 21, 2015)

Saw this in title,"travelling at ludicrous velocity"... and, first thought was:







Got these tonight and tomorrow...  Orionids meteor shower 2015



> The sky is set to host one of its most stunning events of the year this week, as dust left behind by Halley’s comet slams into our atmosphere and creates celestial fireworks across the sky.
> 
> The Orionids will hit their peak on the night of 21 October, going into the morning of 22 October.



Hope it is clear weather.


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## dorsetknob (Oct 21, 2015)

Two weeks notice that they found a 2000 ft ( thats' a 600m for our metric brethren ) asteroid that SHOULD pass no closer than 310,000 miles, or 1.3 lunar  distances

This goes to show how UNDERFUNDED and rescource Short the near earth object project is
If this object had or was to hit the earth then your talking a near extinction event ( depending on how dense its core is ) and if it did hit somewhere like Iceland it might even punture the earths crust and that would probably would be an extinction event

Even a collision with the moon would have extreme consequence for planet earth


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## MIRTAZAPINE (Oct 21, 2015)

That was close call and nobody knew it. My astronomy skill is rusty. How big of an explosion for an asteroid 2000 ft across?

Even if  we know an asteroid would hit us, what could we do? A nuclear strike on an asteroid would not do much and would just break it into more pieces.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 21, 2015)

A giant meteorite  approximately 2000ft across that broke in two as it crashed off Australia, could have been responsible for a mini-ice age that engulfed Britain in 535AD.

The claim was made by marine geophysicist Dallas Abbott at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union

She found evidence of two substantial impact craters in the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the northern Australian coast.

In the mid-sixth century, Europe and Asia experienced the most severe and protracted episode of cooling of the last 2,000 years.

Sources from the time refer to widespread crop failures and famines as the unseasonal weather took hold. The Gaelic Irish Annals recorded 'a failure of bread' from 536 to 539AD.

Tree ring analysis by Mike Baillie from Queen's University in Belfast also suggested a cool period. He found the Irish oak showed abnormally little growth in 536 and 542. This phenomenon was noted in trees in Sweden and Finland as well.

The cause, according to historic sources, was a huge dust veil that descended on Earth.

For instance Byzantine historian Procopius recorded in 536AD that 'during this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness.

'It seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear.'

Until now scientists were divided as to whether the dust cloud was caused by a huge volcanic eruption like Krakatoa or a meteorite slamming into Earth.

The eruption theory has many supporters due to sulphate deposits found in ice cores from that period.

However, Dr Abbott's research suggests the alternative theory. She found satellite measurements of sea levels pointed to two significant craters off Australia, which were 11miles and 7.4miles wide.

According to National Geographic, she was led to the site by large v-shaped dunes along the coast, which she believes are evidence of a great tsunami triggered by a giant impact.

Dr Abbott calculated that the original object must have been 2,000ft across. She also found that core samples from the area revealed material likely to have been melted and then blasted into the sky.


This could fit quite neatly with a 2004 paper in the journal of Astronomy and Geophysics, which suggested an object around 2,000ft across could have caused a cooling event on the scale of AD535.

Other researchers led by U.S. physicist Mark Boslough have dismissed Dr Abbott's theory.

Dr Boslough said if a large impactor had broken up as it approached Earth's surface, the fragments should have 'essentially behaved as one piece', creating just one crater.

He added that Dr Abbott and others had found 'evidence' of more impact events than astronomer's believe are possible.

Dr Abbott has staunchly defended her work. While she agreed her case wasn't 100 per cent proven she said: 'I think we're getting very close to being able to show there were a lot of impacts in the last 10,000 years.'

Video of 2000ft  wide asteroid


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 21, 2015)

An asteroid the size of 2015 TB145 would do major damage if it were to slam into Earth. For example, the near-Earth object (NEO) that caused the famous "Tunguska event," which destroyed 800 square miles (about 2,070 square km) of Siberian forest in 1908, is thought to have been just 130 feet (40 m) or so in diameter — about 10 percent as wide as 2015 TB145.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astr...5_tb145_another_space_rock_passes_safely.html

Scientists have discovered about 13,000 NEOs to date, out of a population that numbers in the millions.
If you want to watch live, the Virtual Telescope Project will be observing the pass.


*Comet-like?*
The orbit of 2015 TB145 hints that it may be "cometary in nature," NASA says.

While it may theoretically be bright enough to see from North America with small telescopes before sunrise on Oct. 31, that will probably be difficult because it will be close to the moon, which is expected to be quite bright, since it will be full on Oct. 27.

The Halloween flyby will actually be the second asteroid flyby of the week. On Oct. 29, an asteroid called 2009 FD about 300 metres in diameter will pass within 16.3 lunar distances of the Earth.


NEO 's


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## EarthDog (Oct 21, 2015)

Want to really know what a 2K' asteroid will do to the earth? Wide spread MAJOR problems and catastrophe. There. No math, just as accurate, and a lot less angry!


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 22, 2015)

_Orbital path of 2015 TB145 through the inner solar system on Halloween. Light blue portion of orbit is above Earth's orbit, dark blue is below Earth's orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech, with labels by author_






At the time of closest approach, 2015 TB145 will come to within 490,000 kilometres of our planet - around 110,000 kilometres beyond the orbit of the Moon. About two and a half hours before that, it will make an even closer pass by the Moon, at a distance of about 285,000 km.






Asteroid 2015 TB145 is certainly a Near-Earth Object, and it is one of the most recent additions to NASA's list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (those of a certain brightness/size that come within 7.5 million km of Earth). However, as it is flying by at a distance farther away than the Moon, this is a harmless pass.

The benefit of this will be that NASA can aim its Goldstone radio antennas 





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldstone_Deep_Space_Communications_Complex
at the asteroid on that day, and obtain detailed radar images of this unusually fast, possibly cometary object. The Goldstone astronomers have labeled 2015 TB145 as "one of the best radar targets of the year" for their radar observations, and they anticipate getting images back with a resolution of about 2 metres per pixel. This will not only confirm the size of the asteroid, but also its shape, and potentially its composition.

"The flyby presents a truly outstanding scientific opportunity to study the physical properties of this object," they wrote in their planning notes.


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 22, 2015)

2meters per pixel is pretty detailed. Thanks for the updates!


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 22, 2015)

They are FUDing everywhere






keeping my tin hat on and so is the missus







As of June 2015 , 12,849 *NEOs* have been discovered: 104 near-Earth *comets* and 12,745 near-Earth asteroids.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 22, 2015)

An asteroid thread turns into a haemorrhoid thread....great.


*RUMOURED ASTEROID THREATS IN RECENT YEARS*
The latest 'potentially hazardous asteroid warning' comes just weeks after doomsdayers claimed the end of the world was nigh after Nasa revealed a giant asteroid is heading towards the planet.

Called Asteroid 86666 (2000 FL10), the 1.5-mile wide (2.5km) space rock made its closest pass on 10 October.





An asteroid of its size has the potential to cause global devastation if it Earth, but Nasa at the time it posed no threat.

In 2011 there were rumours about the so-called 'doomsday' comet Elenin, 




which never posed any danger of harming Earth and broke up into a stream of small debris out in space.

Then there were assertions surrounding the end of the Mayan calendar on 21 December 2012, insisting the world would end with a large asteroid impact.

Earlier his year, asteroids 2004 BL86





and 2014 YB35






were also said to be on dangerous near-Earth trajectories, but their flybys in January and March went without incident.

All asteroids are monitored by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Lab's Near-Earth Object Observations program.

This program keeps track of the orbits of comets and asteroids and publishes warnings if one of these rocks is due to collide with Earth, or will come close to doing so.

People can also monitor the comets and asteroids themselves by typing the name of the rock into JPL's Small-Body Database Browser.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPL_Small-Body_Database

This browser creates an interactive module that can be zoomed in and out of, and filtered to show orbits on different days.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 23, 2015)

Observers trying to glimpse the space rock using telescopes will have to look late on the night of October 30, and before dawn on October 31.

The huge asteroid will pass Earth at 310,000 miles (498,896 km) or 1.3 times the Earth-moon distance, which is a totally safe pass. It’ll come closer to the moon than to Earth, only 180,000 miles (280,000 km) from the moon.

The space rock’s brightness will be at an approximate magnitude of 10, which is fainter than the eye alone can see. But the asteroid should be easy to spot “slowly” moving across the field of stars if you know when and where to look. And, by the way, although the asteroid’s distance will make this moving object appear to move slowly, this speeding space rock is traveling at 78,000 miles (126,000 km) per hour!

On the night of October 30-31, the asteroid will be traveling across the well-known constellation of Orion.





Preliminary estimates indicate asteroid 2015 TB145 is about 1,542 feet (470 meters) in diameter (estimates range between 689 to 2,133 feet, or 210 to 650 meters). Because of its size, advanced amateur astronomers may be able to see the moving asteroid in telescopes of 8″ in diameter or larger.






Where to point your telescope: If you have a computerized (Go To) telescope, point it to HIP 23301, an 8 magnitude star in Orion before 2:20 a.m. CT on October 31 (Saturday morning) and wait for the asteroid. The space rock will appear as a slowly moving ‘star’ passing very close to this actual fixed star at that time. This view shows a half degree field of view (about the size of a full moon). Illustration by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.


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## 64K (Oct 23, 2015)

I'm not so sure that I would want any warning that an asteroid of the size that would wipe out life was on a course to hit Earth if there was nothing that could be done about it. The chaos that would probably ensue in society would be immense I imagine and then to have to just wait for me and all of my family to die would be miserable. I suppose some people could survive if they had a fallout shelter stocked with food, water and supplies to outlast the "Nuclear Winter" that would likely come from so much material being thrown up into the atmosphere and blocking most of the sunlight assuming they were fortunate enough to be far enough away from the impact site to not be killed when it hit and that their neighbors that knew about their shelter didn't find a way to get into their shelter later on to take away their supplies.

I guess the only way to have any hope to stop an asteroid from hitting the Earth would be a nuclear bomb. Not to try to blow the asteroid up but to set it off beside the asteroid to deflect it's trajectory to avoid hitting the Earth. We would have no idea how much mass and asteroid might have so it would be wise to have a bomb big enough to deflect the largest of the known asteroids. I doubt our present stockpile would contain a nuke big enough to work. I have no idea how big the nuke might have to be. Possibly thousands of megatons. I don't know if that is even possible and it would have to be tested to make sure it works. I don't think it could be tested safely on Earth so it would need to be tested in space possibly on an asteroid that isn't on a collision course with Earth to see if it could work if need be. We would also have to have a rocket on perpetual state of readiness for take off quickly if need be.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 23, 2015)

To actually view the asteroid one would need a telescope with at least an 8 inch diameter, cost from about £ 800.00 and up and if you want the tracking kit the skies the limit.







useful for views of the night sky like these

8 inch and digi cam





Jupiter: 8-inch Celestron SCT telescope





M 31, 8" f5 Newtonian stopped to f6(6.67"), 90 minutes





Amateur astronomer Thomas Williamson of New Mexico took this picture of Mars on August 1st. He used an 8-inch telescope and a digital web camera.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 23, 2015)

The new discovery in Australia dwarfs Meteor Crater in Arizona, one of the best preserved meteorite craters in the world. The crater in Australia is nearly 250 times larger than Meteor Crater.

The research is published in _Tectonophysics_.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 23, 2015)

@rtwjunkie

regards to your better half hope she is well.


Go To and computerised telescopes...just the stuff






http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/GoTo-Computerized-Telescopes/pc/1/15.uts


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 23, 2015)

The Vredefort crater is the largest verified impact crater on Earth, more than 300 km across when it was formed











The previous record holder was the Vredefort crater in South Africa, clocking in at a diameter of 380 kilometers (236 miles.) The Vredefort impact structure remains the oldest known crater in the world, forming about 2,023 million years ago.





The size of the impact zone is so huge that you might be wondering why no one noticed it before now. Just like the crater that was recently discovered on the moon, other geological processes intervened to keep the secret. In the case of the moon, other impacts wiped out most evidence of a crater on the surface. In Australia, evidence of the impact zone was worn away over millions of years, as erosion scrubbed away evidence of the impact on the surface, and new layers of rocks were deposited over the top. How long that process took remains a mystery.


I bet a few hicks lost TV signal when that MOFO touched down.


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## 64K (Oct 23, 2015)

The asteroid doesn't even have to impact the ground to cause devastation. A much smaller asteroid exploded about 5 miles above Tunguska in Siberia and flattened the trees for hundreds of square miles in 1908.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/30jun_tunguska/

btw @CAPSLOCKSTUCK I would love to have a 8 inch or 10 inch reflector telescope but I'm concerned with the "light pollution" because of living close to a city.


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## sneekypeet (Oct 23, 2015)

Thread has been overly cleansed of all the crap!
Feel free to continue to post off topic, I need some more time with the ban stick, its been a while!


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 23, 2015)

@64K i can lie on my kids trampoline and see the MilkyWay, believe me it is a real treat, i feel sorry for those who never see a truly dark sky.






Considering all the stars visible in all directions around Earth, the upper end on the estimates seems to be about 10,000 visible stars. Other estimates place the number of stars visible to the eye alone – surrounding the entire Earth – at more like 5,000. At any given time, half of Earth is in daylight. So only half the estimated number – say, between 5,000 and 2,500 stars – would be visible from Earth’s night side.
There are *9 galaxies* visible to the naked eye that you might see when observing the sky, and there are about *13 nebulae* that you might see.

http://www.darkskydiscovery.org.uk/int_dark_sky_places.html

http://darksky.org/idsp/


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## dorsetknob (Oct 23, 2015)




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## lilhasselhoffer (Oct 23, 2015)

dorsetknob said:


>



May I ask the source?

It seems interesting, and haven't seen anything like it.  I'd be interested if they had provided link to where they got the data (and subsequently what research has been done on the larger impacts).


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 23, 2015)

lilhasselhoffer said:


> May I ask the source?
> 
> It seems interesting, and haven't seen anything like it.  I'd be interested if they had provided link to where they got the data (and subsequently what research has been done on the larger impacts).




 This diagram maps the data gathered from 1994-2013 on small asteroids impacting Earth’s atmosphere to create very bright meteors, technically called “bolides” and commonly referred to as “fireballs”.  Sizes of red dots (daytime impacts) and blue dots (nighttime impacts) are proportional to the optical radiated energy of impacts measured in billions of Joules (GJ) of energy, and show the location of impacts from objects about 1 meter (3 feet) to almost 20 meters (60 feet) in size. Image Credit: Planetary Science.

A map released today by NASA’s Near Earth Object (NEO) Program reveals that small asteroids frequently enter and disintegrate in the Earth’s atmosphere with random distribution around the globe. Released to the scientific community, the map visualizes data gathered by U.S. government sensors from 1994 to 2013. The data indicate that Earth’s atmosphere was impacted by small asteroids, resulting in a bolide (or fireball), on 556 separate occasions in a 20-year period. Almost all asteroids of this size disintegrate in the atmosphere and are usually harmless. The notable exception was the Chelyabinsk event which was the largest asteroid to hit Earth in this period. The new data could help scientists better refine estimates of the distribution of the sizes of NEOs including larger ones that could pose a danger to Earth.

Finding and characterizing hazardous asteroids to protect our home planet is a high priority for NASA. It is one of the reasons NASA has increased by a factor of 10 investments in asteroid detection, characterization and mitigation activities over the last five years. In addition, NASA has aggressively developed strategies and plans with its partners in the U.S. and abroad to detect, track and characterize NEOs. These activities also will help identify NEOs that might pose a risk of Earth impact, and further help inform developing options for planetary defense.

The public can help participate in the hunt for potentially hazardous Near Earth Objects through the Asteroid Grand Challenge, which aims to create a plan to find all asteroid threats to human populations and know what to do about them. NASA is also pursuing an Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) which will identify, redirect and send astronauts to explore an asteroid. Among its many exploration goals, the mission could demonstrate basic planetary defense techniques for asteroid deflection.

For more information about the map and data, go to: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov

this help?


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## lilhasselhoffer (Oct 23, 2015)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> This diagram maps the data gathered from 1994-2013 on small asteroids impacting Earth’s atmosphere to create very bright meteors, technically called “bolides” and commonly referred to as “fireballs”.  Sizes of red dots (daytime impacts) and blue dots (nighttime impacts) are proportional to the optical radiated energy of impacts measured in billions of Joules (GJ) of energy, and show the location of impacts from objects about 1 meter (3 feet) to almost 20 meters (60 feet) in size. Image Credit: Planetary Science.
> 
> A map released today by NASA’s Near Earth Object (NEO) Program reveals that small asteroids frequently enter and disintegrate in the Earth’s atmosphere with random distribution around the globe. Released to the scientific community, the map visualizes data gathered by U.S. government sensors from 1994 to 2013. The data indicate that Earth’s atmosphere was impacted by small asteroids, resulting in a bolide (or fireball), on 556 separate occasions in a 20-year period. Almost all asteroids of this size disintegrate in the atmosphere and are usually harmless. The notable exception was the Chelyabinsk event which was the largest asteroid to hit Earth in this period. The new data could help scientists better refine estimates of the distribution of the sizes of NEOs including larger ones that could pose a danger to Earth.
> 
> ...





dorsetknob said:


> The source for that picture is
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_event
> and as usual any info from wilki is to be consumed with a large pinch of salt



Much obliged.


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## dorsetknob (Oct 23, 2015)

lilhasselhoffer said:


> May I ask the source?


The source for that picture is
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_event
and as usual any info from wilki is to be consumed with a large pinch of salt


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 23, 2015)

dorsetknob said:


> The source for that picture is
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_event
> and as usual any info from wilki is to be consumed with a large pinch of salt






you will find many,many more here. If you are that anally retentive

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=asteroid+hitting+earth&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSjAEaiQELEKjU2AQaAggKDAsQsIynCBpiCmAIAxIo3gLuAuoC7geLCPgHqxPcAoATzgeqKJopnT3JP6koyifQNKM-uSixNRowjHaWUzsE0h1ljpipqEwx4-WvIxg3hPgrARJpXmKsvL63tqQ2gktmZBLUpe5TrRfkIAIMCxCOrv4IGgoKCAgBEgQcRJKsDA&sa=X&ved=0CBwQwg4oAGoVChMIlb-V2IbZyAIVBuwmCh0EbQvX&biw=1440&bih=799#imgrc=FMRLtfH8hUcqyM:



Want to feel REALLY frightened?

*99942 Apophis*











https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis


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## lilhasselhoffer (Oct 23, 2015)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> you will find many,many more here. If you are that anally retentive
> 
> https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=asteroid+hitting+earth&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSjAEaiQELEKjU2AQaAggKDAsQsIynCBpiCmAIAxIo3gLuAuoC7geLCPgHqxPcAoATzgeqKJopnT3JP6koyifQNKM-uSixNRowjHaWUzsE0h1ljpipqEwx4-WvIxg3hPgrARJpXmKsvL63tqQ2gktmZBLUpe5TrRfkIAIMCxCOrv4IGgoKCAgBEgQcRJKsDA&sa=X&ved=0CBwQwg4oAGoVChMIlb-V2IbZyAIVBuwmCh0EbQvX&biw=1440&bih=799#imgrc=FMRLtfH8hUcqyM:
> 
> ...




That math seems a little off.

1600 megatons = 6.6944*10^18 Joules 
Given velocity is 30 km/s = 30000 m/s
e(k) = 1/2 * m * V^2   =>  m = 2* e(k) / V^2   => 1.3389*10^19 / 9*10^8 = 1.4877*10^10 kg

Let's assume a sphere, because that's just the easiest math.
v = (4/3) * PI() * r^3 = (4/3) * PI() * 185^3  = 26521065 = 2.65*10^7 m^3
m = v * d     => m / v= d   =>  density = 1487.7 / 2.65 = 561 kg/m^3 = 0.561 g/cm^3



My problem comes in when the density of Apophis is listed on wikipedia as 3.2 g/cm^3, and the estimated kinetic energy it hits Earth with is in fact 750 megatons.  Let's do that math, assuming that velocity is off somehow.

v = (4/3) * PI() * r^3 = (4/3) * PI() * 185^3  = 26521065 = 2.65*10^7 m^3
m = v * d   =>  mass = 2.65*10^7 * 3200 = 8.480*10^10 kg

750 megatons = 3.138*10^18 Joules
e(k) = 1/2 * m * V^2  =>  V = sqrt(2* e(k) / m) = 8603 m/s = 8.6 km/s

Anyone else see how this infographic is misleading?  The numbers provided are scary huge, but because Apophis is traveling in the same direction as we are the apparent velocity of it will be 29% of the velocity that they quote it as.  




I'd like somebody to double check the work, but it's kinda funny how people don't double check work before producing infographics.


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## dorsetknob (Oct 23, 2015)

dorsetknob said:


> as usual any info from wilki is to be consumed with a large pinch of salt


Not very accurate but then again we are on a forum not in a collage classroom


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 23, 2015)

The Probability of Collisions with Earth

JPL OK ?

http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/back2.html


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## RejZoR (Oct 24, 2015)

So, the Apophis is in our ring, but not on the same orbit level, it only crosses our path here and there on horizontal and vertical axis.

I wonder if they have any long term strategies to derail such objects out of our way, being sure we don't make it even worse by making it cross our path even more often than it already does.


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## dorsetknob (Oct 24, 2015)

lilhasselhoffer said:


> That math seems a little off.


Other Sources have reduced the estimated size of the incoming " Asteroid/comet remenent from 2000 ft dia  down to 1300ft

That's not good, because even a 1,300-foot (400-meter) asteroid could smack Earth like 2800 metric tons of dynamite, leaving behind a crater 3.7 miles wide. "If an asteroid of this size strikes the Earth it would produce continental-scale devastation


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 24, 2015)

Would-be skywatchers can turn to the internet for live telescope views provided by the Virtual Telescope Project.







Near-Earth Object Camera




http://neocam.ipac.caltech.edu/

NEOcam (Near-Earth Object Camera) is a proposed infrared telescope that would potentially track down 10 times more near-Earth objects than we've currently located. NASA recently gave the team some funding to further develop the idea. If the project is selected, it could fly as early as 2020.







http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V76N1/0402_asteroids.html


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## Arjai (Oct 24, 2015)

dorsetknob said:


> Not very accurate but then again we are on a forum not in a collage classroom


A collage classroom would not be any better.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 26, 2015)

Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California assures that they are well aware and fully understand the trajectory of 2015 TB145.

LOOK you can see it 





“At the point of closest approach, it will be no closer than about 300,000 miles — 480,000 kilometers or 1.3 lunar distances. Even though that is relatively close by celestial standards, it is expected to be fairly faint, so night-sky Earth observers would need at least a small telescope to view it.”

NASA further revealed that the asteroid isn’t exerting much gravitation influence and it is so small that it will have no detectable effect on the moon or anything here on Earth, including our planet’s tides or tectonic plates.

Astronomers at the space agency will be using the 34-meter (110-foot) DSS 13 antenna at Goldstone to bounce radio waves off the asteroid. These radio waves will in turn be collected by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia, and the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center’s Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico. NASA scientists hope to obtain radar images of the asteroid as fine as about 7 feet (2 meters) per pixel. This should reveal a wealth of detail about the object’s surface features, shape, dimensions and other physical properties.

“The close approach of 2015 TB145 at about 1.3 times the distance of the moon’s orbit, coupled with its size, suggests it will be one of the best asteroids for radar imaging we’ll see for several years,” said Lance Benner, of JPL, who leads NASA’s asteroid radar research program. “We plan to test a new capability to obtain radar images with two-meter resolution for the first time and hope to see unprecedented levels of detail.”


“The asteroid’s orbit is very oblong with a high inclination to below the plane of the solar system,” said Benner. “Such a unique orbit, along with its high encounter velocity — about 35 kilometers or 22 miles per second — raises the question of whether it may be some type of comet. If so, then this would be the first time that the Goldstone radar has imaged a comet from such a close distance.”






Map showing the path of near-Earth asteroid 2015 TB145 beginning at 6:00 Universal Time on Oct. 31 hourly through 20:00 UT (1 a.m. – 3 p.m. CDT). Closest approach of 300,000 miles (480,000 km) occurs at 17:05 UT or during afternoon hours for observers in the Americas. The path is only approximate as the asteroid’s orbit continues to be refined. Credit: Chris Marriott’s SkyMap





Stellarium view of the sky and featured asteroid seen from northern, Minnesota at 11:55 p.m. October 30, 2015. Notice that a bright, waning gibbous Moon will be nearby during the best viewing opportunities for the Americas, which will make 2015 TB145 a little harder to spot


According to the *catalog of near-Earth objects* kept by the Minor Planet Center, this is the closest currently known approach by an object this large until asteroid*1999 AN10* (about 2,600 feet  or 800-m in size) zips by at about 1 lunar distance in August 2027.


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## Drone (Oct 27, 2015)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> 99942 Apophis
> http://news.sciencemag.org/sites/default/files/sn-apophisH.jpg



No. It's not Apophis. Not even close. It's *Itokawa*


Whateva. Here's 2015 TB145. Be afraid, be very afraid!


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## jboydgolfer (Oct 27, 2015)

IMO, the MOST comprehensive , and genius guide to the universe is here..*SCIENCE *

seriously tho-its truly amazing what we (as a planet) are subject to , and have NO control to stop. what would you have done if this puppy WASN'T going to be missing us?? could be a good plan to have.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 27, 2015)

Drone said:


> No. It's not Apophis. Not even close. It's *Itokawa*



sorry........... it was a long way away......


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## R-T-B (Oct 27, 2015)

jboydgolfer said:


> IMO, the MOST comprehensive , and genius guide to the universe is here..*SCIENCE *
> 
> seriously tho-its truly amazing what we (as a planet) are subject to , and have NO control to stop. what would you have done if this puppy WASN'T going to be missing us?? could be a good plan to have.



Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but do you honestly think anyone in their right mind would tell us if it wasn't going to miss?  Why?


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 27, 2015)

R-T-B said:


> Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but do you honestly think anyone in their right mind would tell us if it wasn't going to miss?  Why?


 
Honestly, if the big life-ending one was coming, it would serve no purpoe to alert the populations.  You would have lawlessness everywhere.


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## jboydgolfer (Oct 27, 2015)

R-T-B said:


> do you honestly think anyone in their right mind would tell us if it wasn't going to miss? Why?



i wasn't really putting all that much thought into it it to be honest, i was just adding some levity to the subject....However,  when it comes to matters of this type(since you've asked), i have the opinion that I i really dont care ...weather i do or dont, it would make NO difference, so i see no reason to get all worked up about matters of this type. That is what i think. But , Life is serious enough, and i Personally find it unappealing to converse on such matters. I also, prefer to not pretend to know what "the powers that be" Would do....or Will do in such a situation...to do so, is just guessing at a hypothetical situation.with that being said, i see no reason that government ,etc..Would notify the masses, it would likely cause only looting, anarchy, etc.. ALL the things that "the man" hates.


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## R-T-B (Oct 28, 2015)

jboydgolfer said:


> i wasn't really putting all that much thought into it it to be honest, i was just adding some levity to the subject....However,  when it comes to matters of this type(since you've asked), i have the opinion that I i really dont care ...weather i do or dont, it would make NO difference, so i see no reason to get all worked up about matters of this type. That is what i think. But , Life is serious enough, and i Personally find it unappealing to converse on such matters. I also, prefer to not pretend to know what "the powers that be" Would do....or Will do in such a situation...to do so, is just guessing at a hypothetical situation.with that being said, i see no reason that government ,etc..Would notify the masses, it would likely cause only looting, anarchy, etc.. ALL the things that "the man" hates.


Yep, I to be honest am the same as you, hate to think about it and honestly don't WANT to even go there.  Just playing devils advocate, which sadly in this case is probably the reality of the matter.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 28, 2015)

Experts at Slooh
http://live.slooh.com/

note the asteroid is about twice the size of Trump World Tower in New York and is travelling around 29 times as fast as a high velocity rifle bullet. It is around 32 times the size of the Chelyabinsk meteor that hit Russia in 2015: "If it [2015 TB145] were to impact us, the energy released would be measured not in kilotons like the atomic bombs that ended World War Two, but in H-Bomb type megatons. It will be interesting indeed to watch Slooh track and image this substantial intruder as it passes just 300,000 miles from us."







During the broadcast, astronomer Bob Berman and guests will discuss the potential dangers posed by Near Earth Asteroids as they watch the "worrisome rock" pass our planet, while trying to work out why we only discovered it three weeks before its close encounter with Earth.

The programme on Wednesday will start at 10am EDT (1AM GMT) and can be viewed here.

You can watch the livestream the Halloween asteroid passing Earth from 5pm GMT (2PM EDT) here.






After four days of observations following its discovery,the orbit of TB145 is now well known. There is no reasonable chance that it will strike either Earth or the moon. Any gravitational interactions that would cause earthquakes or epic floods can also be ruled out. Assuming typical asteroid densities and the estimated diameter of TB145, it will only have a mass that is a tiny fraction of the mass of the moon and therefore a minute gravitational impact upon either Earth or the moon.

But while TB145 will be a near miss, is it also a warning shot across Earth's bow. We know of approximately 3,300 objects that are of a similar size, classified as Near Earth Objects, or NEOs. Given the statistics, the likelihood is that Earth will be struck by such an object on average once every 73,000 years so it's not something to be expected to occur very frequently or to lose too much sleep over. But it is a risk that must be monitored. In fact, such near misses have triggered our efforts to chart NEOs and develop possible plans to divert them.

These plans remain in their infancy, especially given the potentially short timescales – we only discovered TB145 two weeks ago – so what would occur if an object similar to TB145 did hit Earth under similar conditions?

*So what would happen?*
TB145 won't hit Earth, but the following timeline of destruction outlines what might happen if something similar did. The predictions are highly speculative and are based largely on the Chelyabinsk meteor strikeand impact simulators by Imperial College London.

Around two weeks before impact, a 300m asteroid, similar in composition to a burnt-up comet is discovered. Later observations support orbital parameters and confirm an impact.

Ten days later, observations reveal that the impactor is actually a loose composition of three similarly-sized objects. Consequently, three impacts are expected and the coast of eastern Australia is estimated to be the most likely location for the strike. Additionally, the timings of the impacts can be predicted to a few minutes' precision. A strike into water appears to be the most likely outcome, triggering a tsunami, so coastal areas are evacuated.

Just days after the evacuation, the objects enter the Earth's atmosphere. They create a gigantic trio of smoke trails as they start to burn up in the high atmosphere with an entry speed of 30km/s – or 108,000 km/h. After about three to five seconds, two of the objects detonate as air blasts at an altitude of 20km creating a bright flare. The trails race across the skies of southern Queensland and, about seven seconds after they entered the atmosphere, the third object reaches ground level and detonates in open water.

*A 5m megaton explosion*
The impact releases 5m megatons of energy, as well as a sea quake of about 7 on the Richter scale. It triggers a tsunami 50km off the east coast of Australia.

Around a minute after the objects entered the atmosphere, observers located under the two air blasts hear and feel the devastating shock waves. The explosion flattens trees and small buildings, scorching the area directly under the blast and causes considerable loss of life within the two affected 20km diameter zones. Luckily, both blast zones miss denser populated areas such as Brisbane.

Five minutes after the impact, a tsunami wave between five and 15 metres in height hits the first coastal regions of Australia's east coast, causing considerable damage and loss of life. It now races inland but quickly dissipates – although the wave will continue to travel and cause damage in less well-prepared or equipped regions of the Pacific.

Over the last seven minutes, debris from the first two objects destroyed during the air blast will have rained down upon an area approximately 50km wide. The debris varies in mass, some causing further damage to property.

*The end of it all?*
Overall, no lasting global damage would be caused by such an event. But on a local level, it would impact economies severely, potentially causing large loss of life. The tsunami alone could be devastating.

A hypothetical event such as this shows that an object such as TB145 would not wipe out humanity or cause widespread global damage. But it also shows that countries will need to continue to work together to address the possible dangers of asteroids and develop effective methods of deflection.

It is not productive to feel threatened by asteroids on a daily basis. Crossing the road can be far more dangerous. Indeed, TB145's fly-by will give us a unique insight into an asteroid that might be a retired comet. Space offers us far more insight and wonder than doom and despair.

But it always pays to keep an eye out, for the bad and the good.

Daniel Brown, Lecturer in Astronomy, _Nottingham Trent University_

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.


I wouldnt care if we all went up in a big puff of smoke TBH







Not it but a pretty one.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 30, 2015)

NASA Spots the 'Great Pumpkin': Halloween Asteroid a Treat for Radar Astronomers














View larger. | This graphic depicts the orbit of asteroid 2015 TB145. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech.

UPDATE OCTOBER 30, 2015. A newly found asteroid of notable size – known as asteroid 2015 TB145 – will safely pass Earth on October 31, 2015, according to clocks in North America. It should be visible moving in front of the stars, with the help of a telescope, tonight (October 30). It is the biggest known asteroid that will come this close Earth until 2027. The asteroid – found as recently as October 10 – will fly past Earth at a safe distance, or about 1.3 times the moon’s distance. Closest approach to Earth will be October 31 at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 UTC). Translate to your time zone here. Follow the links below for charts and other information.

Top tips and charts for viewing the asteroid with a telescope.

How close will asteroid 2015 TB145 come to the Earth and moon?

How big is it?

When and how did scientists discover asteroid 2015 TB145?

How will scientists observe it?

Similar close approaches of other asteroids

When will asteroid 2015 TB145 sweep near Earth again?


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## rruff (Oct 30, 2015)

jboydgolfer said:


> seriously tho-its truly amazing what we (as a planet) are subject to , and have NO control to stop. what would you have done if this puppy WASN'T going to be missing us?? could be a good plan to have.



Imagine a circle with the earth at the center, and TB145 on the edge. The area of that circle is *6,000 times larger than the projected area of the earth. *Personally I don't think that is very close to hitting us. Basically it just touches that 1 in 6,000 circle.


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## FreedomEclipse (Oct 30, 2015)

Am i the only one who read the title as 

*"**NASA warns of comic book travelling at ludicrous velocity"*

??? 

I was thinking..  What the hell is a comic book doing up in space anyway?


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## dorsetknob (Oct 30, 2015)

@rruff
GET  YOUR QUOTES RIGHT PLEASE
I did not Say


rruff said:


> dorsetknob said: ↑
> seriously tho-its truly amazing what we (as a planet) are subject to , and have NO control to stop. what would you have done if this puppy WASN'T going to be missing us?? could be a good plan to have.
> Imagine a circle with the earth at the center, and TB145 on the edge. The area of that circle is *6,000 times larger than the projected area of the earth. *Personally I don't think that is very close to hitting us. Basically it just touches that 1 in 6,000 circle.



That Honour goes to


jboydgolfer said:


> IMO, the MOST comprehensive , and genius guide to the universe is here..*SCIENCE *
> 
> seriously tho-its truly amazing what we (as a planet) are subject to , and have NO control to stop. what would you have done if this puppy WASN'T going to be missing us?? could be a good plan to have.



@R-T-B   managed to quote it right

Have another go see if you can edit your post and get the right person in your quotes
Have a nice Day


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## PCGamerDR (Oct 30, 2015)

will it be seen in the city? and what's the scheduled time it will fly by?


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## jboydgolfer (Oct 30, 2015)

dorsetknob said:


> Have another go see if you can edit your post and get the right person in your quotes
> Have a nice Day



what do you mean? that comment was made in response to something RTB said, i replied to him, not you.


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## dorsetknob (Oct 30, 2015)

Re read my post and you will realize that Quotes are being attributed to me  that i never made BY @rruff  that were made by you
Read his post for confirmation   #44
Examine the Quote and then check your post   #36

Your see that i have been misquoted the quote is yours yet he attributes it to me


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## jboydgolfer (Oct 30, 2015)

oh, when you quoted me, it seemed like you were replying to my message..because i got the notification. i'll just see my way out of this conversation.


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## dorsetknob (Oct 30, 2015)

Thats ok i understand how and why your miffed   a stupid misquote  that's why i asked @rruff to edit his post to correct his mistake


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## Blue-Knight (Oct 30, 2015)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> NASA warns of cosmic rock travelling at ludicrous velocity


End is near. Think about it.



Spoiler: Off topic






dorsetknob said:


> and as usual any info from wilki is to be consumed with a large pinch of salt


Why people say that? Isn't it a reliable source?


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## dorsetknob (Oct 30, 2015)

Blue-Knight said:


> Why people say that? Isn't it a reliable source?



simple Answer   NO   when ANYONE CAN EDIT Pages   its all to easy for mistakes or malicious Edits to be made  they then have the potential to stay until someone else notices that such malicious Edits or mistakes have been made


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## R-T-B (Oct 31, 2015)

dorsetknob said:


> simple Answer   NO   when ANYONE CAN EDIT Pages   its all to easy for mistakes or malicious Edits to be made  they then have the potential to stay until someone else notices that such malicious Edits or mistakes have been made



It can however be a reliable source to find reliable sources (if you view it with a critical eye).

You should always go to the footnotes at wikipedia, and check wikis sources.  Then you're golden.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 31, 2015)

Wiki reckons it looks like me !!!!!






This image of asteroid 2015 TB145, a dead comet, was generated using radar data collected by the National Science Foundation's 1,000-foot (305-meter) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The radar image was taken on Oct. 30, 2015, and the image resolution is 25 feet (7.5 meters) per pixel. Image credit: NAIC-Arecibo/NSF
*



*

Scientists observing asteroid 2015 TB145 with NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, have determined that the celestial object is more than likely a dead comet that has shed its volatiles after numerous passes around the sun.





http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/

The belated comet has also been observed by optical and radar observatories around the world, providing even more data, including our first close-up views of its surface. Asteroid 2015 TB145 will safely fly by our planet at just under 1.3 lunar distances, or about 302,000 miles (486,000 kilometers), on Halloween (Oct. 31) at 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT, 17:00 UTC).

The first radar images of the dead comet were generated by the National Science Foundation's 305-meter (1,000-foot) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The radar images from Arecibo indicate the object is spherical in shape and approximately 2,000 feet (600 meters) in diameter and completes a rotation about once every five hours.





https://www.naic.edu/


Managed by the University of Hawaii for NASA, the IRTF's 3-meter (10 foot) telescope collected infrared data on the object. The data may finally put to rest the debate over whether 2015 TB145, with its unusual orbit, is an asteroid or is of cometary origin.

"We found that the object reflects about six percent of the light it receives from the sun," said Vishnu Reddy, a research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona. "That is similar to fresh asphalt, and while here on Earth we think that is pretty dark, it is brighter than a typical comet which reflects only 3 to 5 percent of the light. That suggests it could be cometary in origin -- but as there is no coma evident, the conclusion is it is a dead comet."

Radar images generated by the Arecibo team are available at:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/nati...5-passes-by-without-a-fright/1082765941733673

More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is at these websites:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch


bbc
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34684761


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## Drone (Nov 1, 2015)

best images:


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## Drone (Nov 3, 2015)




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## Drone (Nov 4, 2015)

*The highest-resolution radar images* received by the Green Bank Telescope reveal new details of the surface of asteroid 2015 TB145.








The radar images of asteroid 2015 TB145 show portions of the surface not seen previously and reveal pronounced concavities, bright spots that might be boulders, and other complex features that could be ridges.

The radar images achieve a spatial resolution as fine as *4 meters per pixel*.

The radar images were taken as the asteroid flew past Earth on October 31 at 1 p.m. EDT at ~ 1.3 lunar distances (480000 km) from Earth. Asteroid 2015 TB145 is spherical in shape and approximately 600 m in diameter.

The next time that asteroid 2015 TB145 will be in Earth's neighborhood will be in September 2018, when it will make a distant pass at ~ 38 million km, or ~ 0.25 AU.


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