Friday, October 30, 2015

Huge asteroid approaching Earth – BBC News

potentially hazardous asteroids tonight will approach Earth at a distance slightly larger than the moon, watching him can carry binoculars. This was told the researcher of the Institute of Applied Mathematics. Keldysh and member of the International Scientific Optical Network Leonid Elenin.

Other notable astronomical events of recent days – a meteorite that fell into Lake Baikal on October 22 drew a bright trace in the sky. Find it impossible because of the small size. The mass of the meteorite does not exceed 1 kilogram, and in diameter, he was about 10 centimeters.

“The next time an asteroid TV145 will return to Earth November 11, 2018, but will take more than the approach of October 31 to 40 million km “, – said the scientist, referring to 500 measurements made by astronomers after the asteroid was opened on 13 October by members of the American Observatory Pan Starrz.

Elenin also noted that the date of the next, possibly more close encounters of the asteroid with the Earth has not yet been determined. But scientists hope that they can be set under the supervision of October 31st. At the moment we only know that “in the next 30 years, the asteroid hit the Earth”.

The asteroid TV145 will be today from Earth at the closest distance at 20:14 Moscow time – just 486,000 kilometers that space standards “very close.” His brilliance reach 10th magnitude, and it will be visible in binoculars or a small amateur telescopes. Tonight and all night it can be seen in the constellation Ursa Major. The size of the asteroid is estimated to be 260-650 meters. The size and proximity to the passage by the Earth TV145 classified as potentially dangerous in terms of the collision. This list includes all the heavenly bodies with a diameter greater than one hundred meters and passing at a distance of 7.5 million kilometers from the planet.

A unique flight in the vicinity of the Earth, according to the Institute of Astronomy, will be able to see the residents of the Urals, Siberia and the Central region of Russia in the night from Saturday to Sunday.

In the night sky over Moscow asteroid will resemble a bright star, if you watch it in a strong pair of binoculars or through a backyard telescope. “Muscovites will be able to observe the asteroid weather permitting – it will move across the night sky of the capital from the south-east to south-west. The asteroid will be above the horizon at an altitude of about 30 degrees. The maximum height will be about 40 degrees above the horizon south of Moscow” – explained Tass Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Secretary of the expert working group on space threats Institute of Astronomy RAS Sergei Naroenkov.

“Amateur astronomers will not see in the sky, no glow and comets ‘tails’, watching the asteroid. On the sky will be visible in the form of an asterisk white, “- said the scientist.

According to him,” the only difference from the star – the asteroid will rather quickly move across the sky. That’s what he would stand in the picture stars. Movement the asteroid will have significantly after 10-20 minutes of observation “.

According to Sergei Naroenkova, approaching asteroid” will not cause any anomaly “in the world. On the contrary, our planet is its gravitational field could threaten the trajectory of the asteroid.

In what direction the earth will throw a guest – scientists still do not know because of the lack of complete data on the “journey” of space wanderer.

TV145 asteroid, according to scientists, the volume is about eight times higher than the celestial body that at the beginning of the twentieth century hit in Siberia, caused severe destruction, and seismic wave several times circled the globe. “The diameter of the Tunguska body was about 60-80 meters, – says Naroenkov. – According to preliminary data, the asteroid’s diameter varies from 280 meters to 600 meters”.

Every day small cosmic bodies bombard the Earth. Some of them scientists can not detect, is often seen as a “falling star” measuring just 10-20 centimeters.

“The larger celestial bodies the size of a meter or more in diameter falling to Earth frequently. We can they seen as bright fireballs, which draws a night sky – told Naroenkov. – The larger the body – such as a meteorite, “Chelyabinsk”, faced with the Earth once every hundred years. The larger bodies fall more often. For example, if we estimate the drop Tungussskogo meteorite measuring 60 meters, the time interval between it and the drop in the same celestial body may be more than one hundred years “.

According Naroenkova, in this situation, earthlings can only wait for the new aliens from outer space, and scientists – to improve their knowledge for effective protection against the threat of cosmic bodies.

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