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We saw it coming: Asteroid monitored from outer space to ground impact
March 26, 2009ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Reports by scientists of meteorites striking Earth in the past have resembled police reports of so many muggings - the offenders came out of nowhere and then disappeared into the crowd, making it difficult to get more than very basic facts.
Now an international research team has been able to identify an asteroid in space before it entered Earth's atmosphere, enabling computers to determine its area of origin in the solar system as well as predict the arrival time and location on Earth of its shattered surviving parts.
"I would say that this work demonstrates, for the first time, the ability of astronomers to discover and predict the impact of a space object," says Sandia National Laboratories researcher Mark Boslough, a member of the research team.
Perhaps more importantly, the event tested the ability of society to respond very quickly to a predicted impact, says Boslough. "In this case, it was never a threat, so the response was scientific. Had it been deemed a threat - a larger asteroid that would explode over a populated area - an alert could have been issued in time that could potentially save lives by evacuating the danger zone or instructing people to take cover."
The profusion of information in this case also helps meteoriticists learn the orbits of parent bodies that yield various types of meteorites.
Such knowledge could help future space missions explore or even mine the asteroids in Earth-crossing orbits, Boslough says.
The four-meter-diameter asteroid, called 2008 TC3, was initially sighted by the automated Catalina Sky Survey telescope at Mount Lemmon, Ariz., on Oct. 6. Numerous observatories, alerted to the invader, then imaged the object. Computations correctly predicted impact would occur 19 hours after discovery in the Nubian Desert of northern Sudan.
According to NASA's Near Earth Object program, "A spectacular fireball lit up the predawn sky above Northern Sudan on October 7, 2008."
A wide variety of analyses were performed while the asteroid was en route and after its surviving pieces were located by meteorite hunters in an intense search.
Researchers, listed in the paper describing this work in the March 26 issue of the journal Nature, range from the SETI Institute, the University of Khartoum, Juba University (Sudan), Sandia, Caltech, NASA Johnson Space Center and NASA Ames, to other universities in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, England, Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
Sandia researcher Dick Spalding interpreted recorded data about the atmospheric fireball, and Boslough estimated the aerodynamic pressure and strength of the asteroid based on the estimated burst altitude of 36 kilometers.
Searchers have recovered 47 meteorites so far - offshoots from the disintegrating asteroid, mostly immolated by its encounter with atmospheric friction - with a total mass of 3.95 kilograms.
The analyzed material showed carbon-rich materials not yet represented in meteorite collections, indicating that fragile materials still unknown may account for some asteroid classes. Such meteorites are less likely to survive due to destruction upon entry and weathering once they land on Earth's surface.
"Chunks of iron and hard rock last longer and are easier to find than clumps of soft carbonaceous materials," says Boslough.
"We knew that locating an incoming object while still in space could be done, but it had never actually been demonstrated until now," says Boslough. "In this post-rational age where scientific explanations and computer models are often derided as 'only theories,' it is nice to have a demonstration like this."
Sandia National Laboratories
Perhaps more importantly, the event tested the ability of society to respond very quickly to a predicted impact, says Boslough. "In this case, it was never a threat, so the response was scientific. Had it been deemed a threat - a larger asteroid that would explode over a populated area - an alert could have been issued in time that could potentially save lives by evacuating the danger zone or instructing people to take cover."
The profusion of information in this case also helps meteoriticists learn the orbits of parent bodies that yield various types of meteorites.
Such knowledge could help future space missions explore or even mine the asteroids in Earth-crossing orbits, Boslough says.
The four-meter-diameter asteroid, called 2008 TC3, was initially sighted by the automated Catalina Sky Survey telescope at Mount Lemmon, Ariz., on Oct. 6. Numerous observatories, alerted to the invader, then imaged the object. Computations correctly predicted impact would occur 19 hours after discovery in the Nubian Desert of northern Sudan.
According to NASA's Near Earth Object program, "A spectacular fireball lit up the predawn sky above Northern Sudan on October 7, 2008."
A wide variety of analyses were performed while the asteroid was en route and after its surviving pieces were located by meteorite hunters in an intense search.
Researchers, listed in the paper describing this work in the March 26 issue of the journal Nature, range from the SETI Institute, the University of Khartoum, Juba University (Sudan), Sandia, Caltech, NASA Johnson Space Center and NASA Ames, to other universities in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, England, Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
Sandia researcher Dick Spalding interpreted recorded data about the atmospheric fireball, and Boslough estimated the aerodynamic pressure and strength of the asteroid based on the estimated burst altitude of 36 kilometers.
Searchers have recovered 47 meteorites so far - offshoots from the disintegrating asteroid, mostly immolated by its encounter with atmospheric friction - with a total mass of 3.95 kilograms.
The analyzed material showed carbon-rich materials not yet represented in meteorite collections, indicating that fragile materials still unknown may account for some asteroid classes. Such meteorites are less likely to survive due to destruction upon entry and weathering once they land on Earth's surface.
"Chunks of iron and hard rock last longer and are easier to find than clumps of soft carbonaceous materials," says Boslough.
"We knew that locating an incoming object while still in space could be done, but it had never actually been demonstrated until now," says Boslough. "In this post-rational age where scientific explanations and computer models are often derided as 'only theories,' it is nice to have a demonstration like this."
Sandia National Laboratories
Asteroid Current Events and Asteroid News RSSFollow Rosetta's final Earth boost
ESA's comet chaser Rosetta will swing by Earth for the last time on 13 November to pick up energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA's European Space Operations Centre will host a media briefing on that day.
Clemson researchers say algae key to mass extinctionss
Algae, not asteroids, were the key to the end of the dinosaurs, say two Clemson University researchers. Geologist James W. Castle and ecotoxicologist John H. Rodgers have published findings that toxin producing algae were a deadly factor in mass extinctions millions of years ago.
A new day dawned fast
In 1980, Luis Alvarez and his collaborators stunned the world with their discovery that an asteroid impact 65 million years ago probably killed off the dinosaurs and much of the the world's living organisms. But ever since, there has been an ongoing debate about how long it took for life to return to the devastated planet and for ecosystems to bounce back.
Twin Keck Telescopes Probe Dual Dust Disks
Astronomers using the twin 10-meter telescopes at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii have explored one of the most compact dust disks ever resolved around another star.
Nullarbor fireball cameras find rare meteorite
Using cameras which capture fireballs streaking across the night sky and sophisticated mathematics, a world-wide team of scientists have managed to find not only a tiny meteorite on the vast Nullarbor Plain, but also its orbit and the asteroid it came from.
Sharpest views of Betelgeuse reveal how supergiant stars lose mass
Using different state-of-the-art techniques on ESO's Very Large Telescope, two independent teams of astronomers have obtained the sharpest ever views of the supergiant star Betelgeuse.
Hubble captures rare Jupiter collision
The checkout and calibration of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been interrupted to aim the recently refurbished observatory at a new expanding spot on the giant planet Jupiter.
Jupiter pummeled, leaving bruise the size of the Pacific Ocean
Something slammed into Jupiter in the last few days, creating a dark bruise about the size of the Pacific Ocean.
Tiny diamonds on Santa Rosa Island give evidence of cosmic impact
Nanosized diamonds found just a few meters below the surface of Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Santa Barbara provide strong evidence of a cosmic impact event in North America approximately 12,900 years ago.
Primitive asteroids in the main asteroid belt may have formed far from the sun
Many of the objects found today in the asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter may have formed in the outermost reaches of the solar system.
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Asteroid (1997) [VHS] Starring: Michael Biehn, Annabella Sciorra, Zachary Charles, Don Franklin, Carlos Gómez Directed By: Bradford May Also With: Christopher Morgan (Producer), Dan Schmit (Producer), Dianna Oliva-Day (Producer), Donna Ebbs (Producer), John Davis (Producer), Robbyn Burger (Writer), Scott Sturgeon (Writer) |
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Asteroid by Asteroid Asteroid is back doing what they do best and that means fuzzed out psychedelic spacerock, combined with exceptional songwriting that brings out their dual vocals to the maximum. Asteroid is by many considered to be one of the top Swedish rock acts today and this statement has never been more true than it is right now. |
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Asteroid Starring: Michael Biehn, Annabella Sciorra, Zachary Charles, Don Franklin, Carlos Gómez Directed By: Bradford May Also With: Christopher Morgan (Producer), Dan Schmit (Producer), Dianna Oliva-Day (Producer), Donna Ebbs (Producer), John Davis (Producer), Robbyn Burger (Writer), Scott Sturgeon (Writer) When Colorado astronomer Dr. Lily McKee discovers that an approaching comet has dislodged several giant asteroids, propelling them on a crash course with Earth, she contacts Federal Emergency Management Director Jack Wallach to help handle the impending crisis. Jack leads an effort to evacuate the city and rescue victims. Meanwhile, Lily realizes that an even more devastating fragment of the comet is headed toward Earth. An attempt to divert the asteroid by firing three Airborne Lasers from F-16s creates a hellish meteor shower - with a dangerously large asteroid heading directly for Dallas! Michael Biehn, Annabella Sciorra |
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The Rock Rats (The Grand Tour; also Asteroid Wars) by Ben Bova (Author) Visionary space industrialist Dan Randolph is dead-but his protégé, pilot Pancho Barnes, now sits on the board of his conglomerate. She has her work cut out for her. For Randolph's rival Martin Humphries still wants to control Astro and still wants to drive independent asteroid miners like Lars Fuchs out of business. Humphries wants revenge against Pancho-ands, most of all, he wants his old flame Amanda, who has become Lars Fuchs's wife. In the struggle over the incalculable wealth of the Asteroid Belt, many will die-and many will achieve more than they ever dreamed was possible. |
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Asteroids by Activision Inc. |
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Asteroid Starring: Michael Biehn, Annabella Sciorra, Zachary Charles, Don Franklin, Carlos Gómez Directed By: Bradford May Also With: Christopher Morgan (Producer), Dan Schmit (Producer), Dianna Oliva-Day (Producer), Donna Ebbs (Producer), John Davis (Producer), Robbyn Burger (Writer), Scott Sturgeon (Writer) When astronomer Dr. Lily McKee (Annabella Sciorra) discovers a massive asteroid hurtling towards the earth, she quickly sends her young son to the safety of his grandfather in Dallas, and contacts the director of the Federal Emergency Management, Jack Wallach (Michael Biehn). The huge fireball hits Kansas with devastating consequences, transforming the city into a hellish maelstrom of rubble and fire. But as Jack and the local firefighters race to rescue victims, Lily sights a second, even larger asteroid - heading straight for Texas. |
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Around The Bend The Asteroids Galaxy Tour (Primary Contributor) |
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Asteroid/Blowback by Asteroid, Blowback ASTEROID is a band that has already made themselves a name over the world with their heavy, progressive, 70's inspired rock. A groove that is impossible to resist. Unforgettable melodies mixed with huge riffs. BLOWBACK always hits the bull's eye with their mix of 70's rock and fuzz rock. When this band turn their amps on you will be nailed against the speaker begging for more. Here you got riff-o-mania that no one is safe from. Fuzzorama Records. 2006. |
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The Silent War: Book III of The Asteroid Wars (The Grand Tour; also Asteroid Wars) by Ben Bova (Author) When corporations go to war, standard business practice goes out the window. Astro Corporation is led by indomitable Texan Pancho Lane, Humphries Space Systems by the rich and ruthless Martin Humphries, and their fight is over nothing less than resources of the Asteroid Belt itself. As fighting escalates, the lines between commerce and politics, boardroom and bedroom, blur--and the keys to victory will include physics, nanotechnology, and cold hard cash. As they fight it out, the lives of thousands of innocents hang in the balance, including the rock rats who make their living off the asteroids, and the inhabitants of Selene City on Earth's moon. As if matters weren't complicated enough, the shadowy Yamagata corporation sets its sights on taking advantage of other people's... |
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Planet Heroes Action Figure Asteroid Tiny by Fisher Price With the powerful, sinister Black Hole (a.k.a. Professor Darkness) and his evil minions intent on destroying the solar system, a day seldom passes without the discovery of some new danger or disaster about to strike at the inhabitants of the peaceful planets. Planet Heroes, a group of intergalactic heroes, can use your help to make sure good triumphs over evil! |
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