GeekwithEnvy

asteroid

NASA Plans To Put Asteroid in Orbit Around The Moon

by Leave a Comment

The mission is clear, NASA wants to capture and redirect an asteroid that’s about 7-10 meters in diameter, weighs around 500 tons and is reasonably close to Earth. After the asteroid is captured it will be placed in an orbit around our Moon. The next step will be to send up a manned spacecraft to intercept the now lunar orbiting asteroid/spacecraft and hitch onto it. Astronauts will then go outside the spacecraft and take samples of the asteroid to bring back to Earth.

This type of mission obviously requires an incredible amount of preparation and initial planning. One of the first steps will be improving asteroid detection here on Earth, then finding a Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) that we can capture. An asteroid suitable for capture would need to be relatively stable and slow moving, it can’t be spinning wildly end-over-end tumbling through space or it would be to difficult to grab. Part of the capture process involves the capturing spacecraft matching the rotation of the asteroid in order to be able to catch it, this process is demonstrated in the animated video above. Next, we would need to focus on the asteroids composition, after all, if we are going to make a mission out of it we mine as well pick the most interesting asteroid, perhaps one with valuable resources.

This mission will also be the first step that mankind has taken toward intercepting an asteroid, which is significant not only for researching the asteroid itself but also in learning ways to in which to protect our planet from future asteroid impacts, especially ones that could cause widespread destruction. We currently have no “real” plans for protecting our only home and although it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon, we should still be preparing and expanding our knowledge in this area. Asteroid mining techniques could also prove to be very useful on long missions into the far reaches of our solar system. We could possibly use asteroids as a source of fuel or for harvesting elements needed to sustain life or to build structures.

The goal is to make all of this happen by 2025. You can read more about the Asteroid Initiative on NASA’s official page.

 

Asteroid With It’s Own Moon

by Leave a Comment

AsteroidwMoon
Radar images of 1998 QE2 (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSSR)

What’s cooler than an asteroid? How about an astroid with it’s own moon!

The asteroid is 1998 QE2 and NASA scientists have used radar technology to take images of it, as seen at the top of this article. This type of asteroid is known as a binary asteroid and some even have two orbiting moons, those are referred to as triple systems. This asteroid is in the Near-Earth population of asteroids and is about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) in diameter.

70MDeepSpaceNetworkAnt
70 Meter Deep Space Network Antenna in Goldstone, Calif. ( Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSSR)

The image was taken May 29th, 2013 using the Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone California which is very large.

The antenna itself is 70 meters or 230 feet in diameter and that makes it the largest and most sensitive Deep Space Network antenna on Earth. The DSN antenna is capable of  tracking a spacecraft travelling more than 16 billion kilometers (10 billion miles) from Earth.

You can read the full article on this asteroid from NASA/JPL.

More than 1000 Injured After Meteorite Explodes Over Russia

by Leave a Comment

 

It’s not often a large meteorite comes flying through our atmosphere and it’s even more rare to see one fall within a populated area, but that’s exactly what happened in Chelyabinsk Russia. The meteorite sped across the sky at 19 miles per second in a ball of fire as it broke apart high up in the air. The incredible speed of the meteorite caused a large sonic boom that did significant damage to windows and even some buildings just before a large piece of the once 10 ton meteorite landed in a nearby lake. Over a thousand people were injured, mostly due to broken glass.

This does bring attention to the fact that we are essentially helpless when it comes to space rocks hitting Earth. Although we are getting better at detecting near Earth objects, it’s crucial that we continue to research ways in which to protect ourselves. As for now, we will just have to hope that if anything is headed our way that it hits an unpopulated area. The good news is that, although at times it may not seem like it but the Earth is largely unpopulated and there are vast regions of land and ocean where meteorites are far more likely to land. It’s also likely that meteorites, like the one that fell in Chelyabinsk, have fallen many times before but were never seen by anyone.

This has all happened just as 2012 DA14, a much larger meteorite than the one that just hit Russia, was on track to come within just 17,500 miles of Earth. That distance puts 2012 DA14 within the geosynchronous ring of our planet and that means it’s closer to Earth than many of our satellites. Experts say that 2012 DA14 is in no way a part of the meteorite that landed today, it’s purely a coincidence. 2012 DA14 has already passed Earth by this time and is actually heading away from our planet. This is a good thing considering that id 2012 DA14 were to land on Earth it would cause massive localized damage.

 

Small Asteroid to Do a Close Flyby of Earth

by Leave a Comment

2012 DA14 is a small asteroid that is going to be flying past Earth on February 15th. The asteroid was discovered in February of 2012 by astronomers at the La Sagra Sky Survey. 2012 DA14 will be so close to Earth when it passes us that it will be within the Earth’s geosynchronous satellite ring, that’s pretty close. That distance is where some communications satellites reside, however it will be far above most other equipment and therefore will be a relatively low risk as it passes Earth at a blazing speed of 17,400 mph.

2012 DA14 Asteroid
2012 DA14 Asteroid Path (Source: NASA)

NASA will be taking advantage of this close approaching asteroid by studying it as it passes us.  2012 DA14 isn’t every large, it’s approximately 150ft across and won’t be visible by the naked eye when it passes us, but it should be visible through a telescope.

Update [NASA]

We could see an Amazing View in the Sky Late 2013

by Leave a Comment

 

 

ison_rolando_960
ISON (Credit:NASA)

It’s been an exciting time for those of us who like to keep our eyes on the sky. We have seen new developments on Mars, large asteroids get uncomfortably close to our planet, discovered distant planets that are in the habitable zone, and now a newly discovered comet, ISON may give us quite a show in the last few months of 2013.

As the comet gets closer to Earth it could become one of the brightest objects in the night sky, possibly even brighter than the Moon. Some say that ISON could possibly be visible during the day. This would be one of the brightest comets to appear in Earth’s sky in many generations, if it can hold together. There is a chance that as the comet gets closer to the Sun, it may break up and be much less spectacular. The comet will pass within a solar diameter from the Sun in November of 2013.

Hopefully the comet will hold together allowing us to  see a good show.