Asteroid 2009 BD To Narrowly Miss Earth On June 2 (set to pass between the earth and moon )

[The Straight Story]

Asteroid 2009 BD To Narrowly Miss Earth On June 2

A 10-metre wide asteroid is set to pass between the earth and moon on Thursday, June 2 next. However, scientists claim it is of no threat to the Earth.

Asteroid 2009 BD, which was first observed on 16 January 2009 will pass approximately within 0.9 lunar distances (the distance between Earth and the Moon) of earth. Astronomers believe the rock is a rare “co-orbital asteroid” which follows the orbit of the Earth, not receding more than 0.1 AU (15 million km) away.

While confirming that the asteroid is not a threat to earth, scientists say that if the asteroid were on course to impact earth it would cause a multimegaton atmospheric explosion over Earth’s surface, rather than impacting it. It potentially would be quite damaging (and even lethal) out to distances of 10 to 20 kilometres in all directions if it happened over a populated region with weak structures.

Two asteroids, several meters in diameter and in unrelated orbits, passed within the moon’s distance of Earth, September 8 2010. In April 2010 an asteroid roughly as long as a tennis court zoomed past Earth at about the distance of the moon. The space rock to pass at or within lunar distance previous to this was 2009 JL2, an asteroid about 17 to 37 meters across, in May 2009


http://www.irishweatheronline.com/news/space/asteroid-2009-bd-to-narrowly-miss-earth-on-june-2/8766.html

[truedelphi]

1. Nobody sneeze, okay? n/t

[Old and In the Way]

2. Seems like a fleet of space tugs would be a wise investment for the world to make. nt

[Poll_Blind]

4. Or just a big-ass lense we could use to focus solar rays onto certain offending objects.

Like a big ant and magnifying glass affair.

PB

[SpiralHawk]

3. But, but, but...nobody on DU needs to be concerned...

...since we will all be Rap-Turd this coming Saturday...

Right? I am right, ain't I? Hello? Please tell me I am right. Eeeeeeek

[FourScore]

5. And we've got a black president. This reminds me of a really bad movie I saw once. n/t

[leveymg]

6. For this sort of thing, I would be happy to see them build nuclear-tipped ABMs.

Real big ones. Spend all you want. Just don't miss.

[The Doctor.]

9. Well,the problem there is relative velocity.

Sure, you can possibly knock a small rock off course with a nuke, but one that's big enough and moving fast enough?

You'd just wind up creating radioactive fragments that would still impact the Earth.

[leveymg]

12. I'll take the fragments for $1000, Alex. This one is real slow - <2km/sec

More likely to work than throwing ropes onto the thing and lassoing it from space tugs, don't you think? Besides, this one is unusually slow, less than 2km/s - doable. See, http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/

[graywarrior]

7. Maybe the Rapture is off by a few days

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.

[truebrit71]

10. Holy fuck..isn't that just a bit frigging close?

I don't mind "just missing us" when they are on the other side of the moon, but an asteriod that whizzes through the space BETWEEN earth and the moon is cutting it very close in my book..and yes, I still realize it's a bloody long way, but it still gives me the willies...

[The Doctor.]

11. It's not a matter of 'if'.

It's a matter of 'when'.

We really need to fund the NEO program... more.

[leveymg]

13. Wasn't 1911 the last one like that? Not long in cosmological time.

[TalkingDog]

14. Okay. +1 to every poster in this thread so far.

I picked a bad week to give up sniffing glue.

[FourScore]

18. Now THAT deserves the +1!!!

+1,000 more like it!

[Skink]

15. We've got a laser for this.

Dick Cheney's got it in storage.

[Yavapai]

17. But he is already using the battery to make his heart "whirrr"

He has a big choice to make, but I am sure he will sacrifice for the good of us all!

[AsahinaKimi]

16. Is Jupiter not doing its Job?

Its supposed to pull in all those Asteroids that come near the earth!
We have a CONTRACT!!

GRAVITY SUCKS!

[Warren DeMontague]

19. Another reason why nasa and science are big wastes of money.

I mean, who gives a shit about space when we have things to worry about down here?



...

:sarcasm:

[felix_numinous]

20. Here's to hoping their calculations are correct!

:toast: