A Close Meteor

[Carbon Brush]

From the BBC......

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64411469

[Leo S]

Technically not a meteor, unless it enters the atmosphere: A meteor is the luminous phenomena we see when a meteoroid (or asteroid/comet) travels through our atmosphere.

It is nice to see that they are finding/predicting these relatively small asteroids beforehand with increasing regularity. It probably won't be long till there is a website along the lines of Heavens Above, that we can check to see if there are any fireballs forecast for the night!

Edited January 26, 2023 by Leo S
typo

[LukeSkywatcher]

When we're going to tell us? That was the scariest thing I've seen on the news. 3,600 Km.

 

[Leo S]

Not really that scary since impactors of this size are only likely to cause relatively superficial damage, along the lines of Chelyabinsk. It would also have to occur over a populated area in order to do so, which is unlikely. Have a play with the Asteroid Launcher to see what happens. Alternative here.

That said, it should be a wakeup call to all that we are still vulnerable, and there is still work to be done, even though we have found most of the really troublesome NEOs.

What remains to be found is likely going to approach us from the direction of the Sun, which for obvious reasons is a problem if you are trying to spot extremely dim objects, but this is now a top priority, and NASA already has a program underway to launch a satellite that can sit far enough away from Earth that it can look for these NEOs without having to endure the glare of the Sun. The other challenge is going to be how to defeat rubble pile asteroids.

[EarthLife]

On 28/01/2023 at 14:14, LukeSkywatcher said:

When we're going to tell us? That was the scariest thing I've seen on the news. 3,600 Km.

I don't find the only certain thing in life (death) scary, the thing I find scary is something like being paralysed from the neck down for the rest of ones life or such like.

But anyway, going by past extinction hits to the Earth, it is a certainty to happen again, and again, and again. I just hope it hits where I'm located at the time.

However, the next extinction event is now pretty much known, the only thing that will stop it now is if we ourselves decide to wake up, or not. It's not looking good though.