Hum Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 It's 1.7 miles long. Its surface is covered in a sticky black substance similar to the gunk at the bottom of a barbecue. If it impacted Earth it would probably result in global extinction. Good thing it is just making a flyby. Asteroid 1998 QE2 will make its closest pass to Earth on May 31 at 1:59 p.m. PDT. Scientists are not sure where this unusually large space rock, which was discovered 15 years ago, originated from. But the mysterious sooty substance on its surface could indicate it may be the result of a comet that flew too close to the sun, said Amy Mainzer, who tracks near-Earth objects at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Ca?ada Flintridge. It might also have leaked out of the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, she said. We will know more after the asteroid zips closer to Earth and scientists using the Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, Calif., and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico can get a better look at it. Astronomers at both observatories plan to track it closely from May 30 to June 9, according to a JPL release. At its closest approach the asteroid will still be 3.6 million miles from our planet (about 15 times the distance between the Earth and the moon), but it will be close enough for these powerful radar antennas to see features as small as 12 feet across. There is no chance that asteroid 1998 QE2 could collide with Earth this go-around, and its next close approach won't be until 2119. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phouchg Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 All man the... dash-cams! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted May 18, 2013 Author Share Posted May 18, 2013 Launch the retro-thrusters ! :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Poster Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 so no end of the world parties? that sucks, Its already may and I have not heard of a single inpending doom... last years 2 end of the world parties were epic ... need another... come on nut jobs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisj1968 Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 It's 1.7 miles long. Its surface is covered in a sticky black substance similar to the gunk at the bottom of a barbecue. If it impacted Earth it would probably result in global extinction. Good thing it is just making a flyby. Asteroid 1998 QE2 will make its closest pass to Earth on May 31 at 1:59 p.m. PDT. Scientists are not sure where this unusually large space rock, which was discovered 15 years ago, originated from. But the mysterious sooty substance on its surface could indicate it may be the result of a comet that flew too close to the sun, said Amy Mainzer, who tracks near-Earth objects at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Ca?ada Flintridge. It might also have leaked out of the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, she said. We will know more after the asteroid zips closer to Earth and scientists using the Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, Calif., and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico can get a better look at it. Astronomers at both observatories plan to track it closely from May 30 to June 9, according to a JPL release. At its closest approach the asteroid will still be 3.6 million miles from our planet (about 15 times the distance between the Earth and the moon), but it will be close enough for these powerful radar antennas to see features as small as 12 feet across. There is no chance that asteroid 1998 QE2 could collide with Earth this go-around, and its next close approach won't be until 2119. more QE2? uh.. that'd be the Quantitative easing 2 from this guy; haha just kidding... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted May 19, 2013 Author Share Posted May 19, 2013 Amazing how these asteroids almost always miss our Moon, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webeagle12 Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 Ban asteroids!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted May 20, 2013 Member Share Posted May 20, 2013 I for one am glad it's missing us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason S. Global Moderator Posted May 20, 2013 Global Moderator Share Posted May 20, 2013 QE2? uh.. that'd be the Quantitative easing 2 from this guy; haha just kidding... lol i thought of the exact same thing. QE2 in 1998? :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 A huge asteroid sailed safely past Earth Friday afternoon, making its closest approach to our planet for at least the next two centuries. Asteroid 1998 QE2, which is about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) wide, cruised within 3.6 million miles (5.8 million km) of Earth at 4:59 p.m. EDT (2059 GMT) today, then slipped silently off into the depths of space once again. There was no chance the 1.7-mile-wide 1998 QE2 would hit us, researchers say. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/05/31/giant-asteroid-to-sail-past-earth-today-watch-it-live/?test=latestnews#ixzz2UuaAS8ai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted June 1, 2013 Member Share Posted June 1, 2013 Whew. Missed again. :) Hum 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phouchg Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Who knows, being an alien spacecraft it just might pull a u-turn yet :laugh: Hum 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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