beka Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Link to amusing story https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/07/17/wasteroid_qv89_earth/ Cheers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonperformer Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 If it was supposed to be so damaging, I'm surprised no one has bothered to keep an eye on it after its discovery. But I guess we should at least be encouraged by the fact that they can't find it in the dangerzone. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gina Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 I thought that too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonperformer Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Mind you, I guess it does to some extent depend on the accuracy of the reporting. I'm not sure 'the register' counts as top-of-the-range reporting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beka Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 (edited) On 18/07/2019 at 10:25, Demonperformer said: Mind you, I guess it does to some extent depend on the accuracy of the reporting. I'm not sure 'the register' counts as top-of-the-range reporting. While The Register do try to put some humor in the titles and content of their stories, they do seem to be credible. In the case of 2006 QV89 I did a quick search and the Wikipedia article on it corroborates what is reported by The Register. More seriously, it looks like there is room for improvement in our ability to reliably track Near Earth Objects that might be a threat. For this object the VLT had to be used to rule out the chance of impact and I am sure getting observing time on telescopes of this class is very competitive. The LSST which is supposed to be starting operation in 2020 has tracking of Near Earth Objects as on of its scientific goals so should improve our abilities in this regard. But maybe we should be more worried by being struck by an Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle.https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/07/19/selfdriving_bus_injuries Edited July 21, 2019 by beka Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonperformer Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 OK, I hadn't checked the magnitude. Sitting between 22 & 25.3, I guess it does take quite a big scope to record it, so your point is well-taken. I remember reading a few years back about a similar-sized asteroid that was discovered four days after it's closest approach to earth. If I was going to worry about this sort of thing at all, I think this would be the concern of choice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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