Astronomy, cosmology and space thread

[buksida]

NASA has upgraded the risk of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 to 3.1 per cent, or about a 1-in-32 chance, the highest odds yet of collision.

Astronomers discovered that the asteroid was barrelling towards Earth in December and it has been a focus of the world’s telescopes and space agencies ever since. As they gather more data on the asteroid’s precise orbit, astronomers have been able to calculate the likelihood of it hitting Earth with greater precision. The asteroid is thought to be between 40 and 90 metres wide and has the potential to release energy equivalent to 7.7 megatonnes of TNT should it hit Earth – enough to destroy a city.

According to NASA, the odds of collision in 2032 have been edging up from a 1-in-83 chance since it was first spotted. It has since moved to 1-in-67, to 1-in-53, to 1-in-43, to 1-in-38 and now to 1-in-32. The European Space Agency has slightly different odds, currently giving the asteroid a 2.81 percent chance of collision.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/24 ... -new-high/

Surprised nobody has mentioned this, its been all over the news.

[STEVE G]

^When I first read about it, it was a 1 in 1000 chance which didn't seem worth worrying about!

[pharvey]

Surprised nobody has mentioned this, its been all over the news.

I'm surprised others are interested....

These are incredible odds quite frankly and it is a major concern. A Meteor 40-90 Meters in diameter is indeed a "City Killer" if it hit. Then again, what happens if it were to split and large segments hit various regions - the Earth's Atmosphere could cause this.

Then again, and a VERY serious consideration, what would happen should it hit the Moon? We would be looking at changes on a GLOBAL scale - Tides, Ecosystem, Weather....

[Big Boy]

Maybe it will hit Soi 94 - what an improvement that would be

Seriously, the Moon has had plenty of big strikes before looking at the state of the surface. I'm sure Elon Musk has it on his horizon.

[pharvey]

Seriously, the Moon has had plenty of big strikes before looking at the state of the surface.

Oh come on BB.... Give it a chance! I was hoping for some "End of the World" comments at least!

[EDIT] That said, a 90m diameter hit may change the way we see the moon's surface! As to where a suitable area for a hit on Earth could be, well I certainly have a Top 10!!

[buksida]

Maybe it will hit Soi 94 - what an improvement that would be

Maybe it'll hit the Hua Hin tax office and do us all a favour!

Thailand is just out of the risk corridor, but Dhaka is pretty close!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... r-AA1zdZYh

[GroveHillWanderer]

NASA has upgraded the risk of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 to 3.1 per cent, or about a 1-in-32 chance, the highest odds yet of collision.

Astronomers discovered that the asteroid was barrelling towards Earth in December and it has been a focus of the world’s telescopes and space agencies ever since. As they gather more data on the asteroid’s precise orbit, astronomers have been able to calculate the likelihood of it hitting Earth with greater precision. The asteroid is thought to be between 40 and 90 metres wide and has the potential to release energy equivalent to 7.7 megatonnes of TNT should it hit Earth – enough to destroy a city.

According to NASA, the odds of collision in 2032 have been edging up from a 1-in-83 chance since it was first spotted. It has since moved to 1-in-67, to 1-in-53, to 1-in-43, to 1-in-38 and now to 1-in-32. The European Space Agency has slightly different odds, currently giving the asteroid a 2.81 percent chance of collision.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/24 ... -new-high/

Surprised nobody has mentioned this, its been all over the news.

Aaand ..... relax!

[404cameljockey]

Reproduced from a Daily Telegraph article yesterday, under fair use law:

A photographer is thought to have become the first person to capture all seven planets and Earth in one picture.

The rare image was made possible because a “great planetary parade” is taking place this week for the first time since 1982 – when cameras were not advanced enough to capture them all.

The article says this will also be visible tomorrow (in the UK at least) for a few minutes just after sunset.

8 planets.jpg (74.77 KiB) Viewed 32037 times

[STEVE G]

There are some interesting images coming back from the Blue Ghost which is a commercial lunar lander that is currently in orbit around the moon:
https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-1/

[migrant]

Mysterious radio pulses from the Milky Way ‘are unlike anything we knew before’



http://www.aol.com/news/radio-burst-pul ... 31139.html

[Dannie Boy]

Interesting but nothing to do with alien life.

[pharvey]

Interesting but nothing to do with alien life.

NON BELIEVER!!!!

[Dannie Boy]

Interesting but nothing to do with alien life.

NON BELIEVER!!!!

I’m waiting for ET to return, then I might start believing!!

[Lost]

Quite the image yesterday with Space X. The astronauts stranded for 9 months on the ISS finally returning to Earth with a dolphin welcome crew.

[STEVE G]

Time flies, the Hubble Space Telescope is coming up to 35 years in space:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble ... le-images/