--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Buck" wrote: > > > It would be real nice to get the Dome numbers of people meditating up before > this happens.
Yes, they will provide the human shield necessary to divert the object. Good thinking Buck. > > > > > **!The sky is Falling!** > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "salyavin808" wrote: > > > > > > > > > I can say with a high degree of confidence that this is how the world > > > ends, maybe not with this particular asteroid, this particular time but > > > someday. For a start, it's happened before - a good many times and with > > > a great deal of mass extinction. Sure, every time a big one hits there's > > > one less big one *to* hit but just in my life there have been several > > > instances of previously unknown asteroids crossing between the Earth and > > > Moon. In 1989 one that, had it been travelling one millionth of a mile > > > an hour slower, would have hit in the middle of the atlantic and set off > > > every volcano and earthquake faultline on earth, not to mention swamping > > > Europe, Africa and the America's with the resulting tsunami. > > > Hardly a rare occurrence then but something to loose sleep over? Not for > > > me but just think, there were three in the last century that struck > > > land, one in Siberia, one in Arabia and one in south America. No known > > > casualties but there was massive destruction in each case. Millions of > > > felled trees in Tunguska, a desert melted into glass in Arabia. I often > > > wonder what would have happened at the height of the cold war if, say, > > > New York or Moscow had been suddenly vapourised by an incoming comet. > > > Would the powers that be been able to stop themselves retaliating > > > against the mistaken foe? Most of these things are unknown before they > > > flash by close enough to part our hair, cosmically speaking, without us > > > being aware of their existence - except this one. Anyway, it's all just > > > something to help keep life in perspective.... > > > > > > > > > Apophis a 'potentially hazardous' asteroid flies by Earth on > > > Wednesday > > > Asteroid Apophis arrives this week for a close pass of Earth. This isn't > > > the end of the world but a new beginning for research into potentially > > > hazardous asteroids > > > > > > [A computer generated image of a near Earth asteroid] A > > > computer-generated image of a near-Earth asteroid. Astronomers will get > > > a close-up view of Apophis on Wednesday. Photograph: Planetary > > > Resources/EPA > > > Apophis hit the headlines in December 2004. Six months after its > > > discovery, astronomers had accrued enough images to calculate a > > > reasonable orbit for the 300-metre chunk of space > > > rock. What they saw was > > > shocking. > > > > > > There was a roughly 1 in 300 chance of the asteroid hitting Earth during > > > April 2029. Nasa issued a press release > > > spurring astronomers around > > > the world to take more observations in order to refine the orbit. Far > > > from dropping, however, the chances of an impact on (you've guessed it) > > > Friday 13 April 2029 actually rose. > > > > > > By Christmas Day 2004, the chance of the 2029 impact was 1 in 45 and > > > things were looking serious. Then, on 27 December astronomers had a > > > stroke of luck. > > > > > > Looking back through previous images, they found one from March on which > > > the asteroid had been captured but had gone unnoticed. This > > > significantly improved the orbital calculation and the chances of the > > > 2029 impact dropped to essentially zero. However, the small chance of an > > > impact in 2036 opened up and remains open today > > > > > > . > > > > > > While there is no cause for alarm, similarly there is no room for > > > complacency either. Apophis remains on the list of Potentially Hazardous > > > Asteroids compiled by the International Astronomical Union's Minor > > > Planet Center. > > > > > > Although most asteroids are found in the belt of space between Mars and > > > Jupiter, not all of them reside there. Apophis belongs to a group known > > > as theAten family . These > > > do not belong to the asteroid belt and spend most of their time inside > > > the orbit of the Earth, placing them between our planet and the sun. > > > > > > That makes them particularly dangerous because they spend the majority > > > of their orbit close to the sun, whose overwhelming glare obscures them > > > to telescopes on Earth rather like a second world war fighter ace > > > approaching out of the sun. > > > > > > Having crossed outside Earth's orbit, Apophis will appear briefly in the > > > night-time sky. Wednesday 9 January will afford astronomers the rare > > > opportunity to bring a battery of telescopes to bear: from optical > > > telescopes to radio telescopes to the European Space Agency's Infrared > > > Space Observatory Herschel. Two of the biggest unknowns that remain to > > > be established are the asteroid's mass and the way it is spinning. Both > > > of these affect the asteroid's orbit and without them, precise > > > calculations cannot be made. > > > > > > Another unknown is the way sunlight affects the asteroid's orbit, either > > > through heating the asteroid or the pressure of sunlight itself > > > . > > > Russia has announced tentative plans to land a tracking beacon on > > > Apophis sometime after 2020 > > > , so that its > > > orbit can be much more precisely followed from Earth. > > > > > > Wednesday's pass is only really close by astronomical standards, taking > > > place at around 14.5 million kilometres above Earth's surface. The > > > moon's orbit is 385,000 km. The 2029 close pass is another matter > > > entirely, however. > > > > > > On Friday 13 April 2029, Apophis will slip past the Earth just 30,000km > > > above our heads less that one-tenth the distance of the moon and > > > closer even than the communication satellites that encircle the Earth at > > > 36,000km. It will appear as a moderate bright moving object, visible > > > from the mid-Atlantic . Depending > > > upon its composition, astronomers could watch the Earth's gravity pull > > > the asteroid out of shape, offering an unprecedented insight into its > > > composition. > > > > > > So, although Apophis poses no immediate danger, we are almost certain to > > > hear a lot more about it over the coming years and decades. Apart from > > > all the science we can learn, its orbit's proximity to Earth's makes it > > > a potential target for future robotic and even manned missions > > > > > > . > > > > > > Stuart Clark is the author of Voyager: > > > 101 Wonders Between Earth and the Edge of the Cosmos > > > > > 848875432> (Atlantic). > > > > > >
