Close Call Asteroid

Canuckster1127 · Post by **Canuckster1127** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 7:00 pm

http://www.playfuls.com/news_001436_Tod ... _XP14.html

Today we meet an asteroid: 2004 XP14

It's not dangerous but it's close enough to make scientists both happy and worried. Happy because they get to see such cosmic objects from a close distance and worried because in the future it is possible for other objects from 2004 XP14's class of asteroids (and even for 2004XP14 itself) to hit Earth.

They are categorized as “Apollos” (from Apollo class asteroids) and have all orbits that intersect with our planet. The one we'll see on July 3 is baptized 2004XP14 and is half mile in diameter.

Discovered by the Lincoln Laboratory Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) on Dec. 10, 2004, XP14 is under close watch by a concerned team of astronomers because of the possibility that this asteroid might impact with Earth during this century, even though a thorough study and analysis of its course and orbit concluded that humanity is not yet in danger.

More than three dozen asteroids have flown closer to Earth in the last few years, but scientists say 2004 XP14 is one of the largest to fly by. "For something of this size to come this close is unusual," said Don Yeomans, who heads the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

It will hit Earth's orbit at only 268,624 km high in the sky and this is why is considered a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid." The latest calculations show that 2004 XP14 will pass closest to Earth at 04:25 UT on July 3 (12:25 a.m. EDT or 9:25 p.m. PDT on July 2). The asteroid's distance from Earth at that moment will be 268,624-miles (432,308 km), or just 1.1 times the Moon's average distance from Earth.

Scientists only approximate the asteroid's measures, hoping to get a better “view” at it when it shall cross our orbit, with the help of some ultra-sophisticated instruments. The will play “ping-pong” with radar beams directed at the asteroid, and later they will analyze the shape and composition of 2004XP14 using the deflected high-frequency waves bounced back. They plan to use a giant radar beacon at the Goldstone Observatory in the Mojave Desert to bounce signals off the asteroid as it flies by.

Only American space fans are going to be able to take a good look at the “friendly” cosmic passer-by, using powerful telescopes. Although Europeans are also able to view it, their images are going to be a whole lot less clear. The asteroid will look like a streaking dot against a background of stationary stars, said Roger Sinnott, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine.

"You have to know where to point your telescope because this tiny dot will be gliding by," Sinnott said.
"Close flybys of Earth like this one, or the even closer flyby the asteroid Apophis will make in 2029, remind us that we live in a cosmic shooting gallery," said Bruce Betts, Director of Projects for The Planetary Society. "We must be vigilant in our efforts to find potential impactors, and in our ponderings of what to do if one is coming for Earth," he added.

Speeding along at 17 kilometers per second (10.5 miles per second), the asteroid will be moving by so fast that it will be covering 8.323 degrees every hour.

Scientists are very interested in asteroids since they are materials of the early years of the solar system. Gaining a complete understanding of these cosmic vagabonds will enable them to construct a full picture of Earth's early life and formative beginnings.