Asteroid 2009 DD45 Earth approach.

[Notebook]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7921279.stm

Didn't hear a thing.

N.

 

[garyw]

It was mentioned on either a NASA mailing or spaceflight news. I can't recall which.

http://www.spaceweather.com/ lists all the near Earth asteroid encounters. There is another on 6th March [SIZE=-1]2009 EW. It will miss by a bigger margin than DD45 but still quite close.

[/SIZE]

 

[Notebook]

Thanks for that, garyw. Lots of info in the java apple; tis there a way to see the closest Earth approach?
Apart from stepping through the applet, and noting the Earth-Asteroid displayed distance.

N.

 

[SlyCoopersButt]

That's what I call a close encounter. Around roughly seventy two thousand kilometers is not much. If it was just aimed a little more perfectly that'd be a major score for the asteroids. It's luck we haven't had another Tunguska scale impact yet.

 

[garyw]

Thanks for that, garyw. Lots of info in the java apple; tis there a way to see the closest Earth approach?
Apart from stepping through the applet, and noting the Earth-Asteroid displayed distance.

N.

Yes.

I was going to see if I could pull the data from this -> [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1436"]MPC Database Asteroid Viewer and Exporter v2.0.3[/ame] and put it into Celestia and Orbiter. Should provide some nice screenshots.

 

[T.Neo]

It's luck we haven't had another Tunguska scale impact yet.

Space is infinite. Earth is about 12000km across.

It's luck that these things have come so close.

 

[RisingFury]

Space is infinite. Earth is about 12000km across.

It's luck that these things have come so close.

You're forgetting the fact that the inner solar system is a shooting gallery. Yes, it's luck that we haven't been struck again.

Just for headsup, the last big hit killed 75% of all life on Earth, 65 million years ago.

 

[2552]

Video of 2009 DD45 from the ground:

 

[escapetomsfate]

You're forgetting the fact that the inner solar system is a shooting gallery. Yes, it's luck that we haven't been struck again.

Just for headsup, the last big hit killed 75% of all life on Earth, 65 million years ago.

How big does an object to cause that kind of devastation have to be?

I was just wondering, because if one the size of a ten story building has "the force of 1,000 atomic bombs" then think what an object with a diameter of 5 miles could do.

Scary...

 

[garyw]

 

[atuhalpa]

2009 DD45 minimovie

[ame="http://www.vimeo.com/3508915"]asteroid 2009 DD45 closest approach on Vimeo[/ame]

My first attempt at this type of stuff. I researched the elements of 2009 DD45, then used MPCORB to add an asteroid of 50 meters diameter. I then modified the config file with the elements of 2009 DD 45, changed the names in the texture and mesh folders, and then used a freeware AVI screen capture program. Uploaded it to VIMEO and here it is.

I should have had more ambient lighting, and maybe changed the FOV, but my main focus was creating it for Orbiter so I could chase it down in the DG and play with it!

 

[garyw]

it's going to need a hefty amount of dV to catch it!