Comet chunks to fly by Earth

[robnissen]

I KNEW IT!!! I knew it all along. Comets are really snowy crapballs, and THEY have been keeping this from us, because THEY don't want to admit that the EPH (Exploding Poop Hypothesis) is correct.

 

[tom_hobbes]

Looks like the sh!t hit the fan.<br /><br />Thanks for tip telfrow, I'm off to the Hubble site now...<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#339966"> I wish I could remember<br /> But my selective memory<br /> Won't let me</font><font size="2" color="#99cc00"> </font><font size="3" color="#339966"><font size="2">- </font></font><font size="1" color="#339966">Mark Oliver Everett</font></p><p> </p> </div>

 

[edawg]

it is plausible that very small chunck with the right delta-v during break up could hit us.But Nasa says were 'ok'.After all these years why havnt they put up a radar net work for near earth space??&%$#@!ing politics...

 

[cyclonebuster]

ahh!! But who knows what evil lurks in the mind of man. Why don't they tell us the size of the 33 chunks?

 

[telfrow]

<font color="yellow">it is plausible that very small chunck with the right delta-v during break up could hit us.</font><br /><br /><b>Fragmenting Comet Won't Hit Earth </b><br /><br /><i>There will be no tsunamis, firestorms or mass extinctions to spoil your Memorial Day weekend. Although the Internet is rife with speculation that a fragment of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 will strike the Earth on May 25, neither the main comet nor any of its more than 40 fragments pose a danger to Earth. <br /><br />"We are very well acquainted with the trajectory of Comet 73P Schwassmann-Wachmann 3," said Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office. "There is absolutely no danger to people on the ground or the inhabitants of the International Space Station, as the main body of the object and any pieces from the breakup will pass many millions of miles beyond the Earth." <br /><br />However, you can see the comet falling apart right before our eyes, thanks to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. <br /><br />Recent Hubble images have uncovered many more fragments than have been reported by ground-based observers. These observations provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the demise of a comet nucleus. <br /><br />None of the comet's fragments will come closer than 5.5 million miles to Earth during its closest approaches May 12 - 28. That's more than 20 times the distance from the Earth to the moon. <br /><br />The main fragment, designated fragment C, will pass closest to Earth on May 12 at a distance of approximately 7.3 million miles. It will be visible to small telescopes during the morning hours in the constellation Vulpecula. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope will observe the comet in May. <br /><br />Astronomers have been observing the comet for more than 75 years. The trajectory of this comet has been monitored and refined over time, and its path around the sun is well understood. Amateur and professional astronomers around the world have been tracking its</i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[cyclonebuster]

They can't even count There must be about 100 chunks in is this photo.<br /><br />http://img&%$#@!.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2006/18/images/e/formats/large_web.jpg<br /><br />

 

[yevaud]

Yep. It's calving big-time. Quite fascinating. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[telfrow]

And you link doesn't work. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[telfrow]

QuickTime/MPEG Sequential Hubble Images <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[yevaud]

Ah. I de-installed Quicktime, as it appears to be a good path for trojans and viruses. Oh, well. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[telfrow]

I changed it. There's also a MPEG option. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[cyclonebuster]

http://img&%$#@!.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2006/18/images/e/formats/large_web.jpg

 

[yevaud]

<img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Thank you muchly. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[telfrow]

The link still doesn't work. For some reason, the filter isn't allowing the full address to post. I'm assuming you're talking about this image: <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[cyclonebuster]

Same site but it was one of the lone images, much closer than those.

 

[cyclonebuster]

<br /><br />http://img&%$#@!.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2006/18/images/e/formats/large_web.jpg

 

[telfrow]

Ah, my bad. It's this one...(smaller here because of site restrictions). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[cyclonebuster]

works fine at other sites why not here?

 

[telfrow]

The link won't work - again, a portion of the address is being filtered. I double checked the address against the photo. See my previous post. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[cyclonebuster]

Bingo That looks like it but you can still enlarge it by clicking in the bottom right corner. But not on this one.

 

[doubletruncation]

Wow! Absolutely beautiful image - thanks for posting this! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[cyclonebuster]

Even in that image you can tell there are many more than the 33 they are reporting. How big are the biggest ones? They don't tell us.

 

[cyclonebuster]

How big would Earth look in the middle of that picture? God forbid.

 

[yevaud]

So far, I've gleaned the following: The size of the fragments (at least the ones that we can see) will be quite varied. Some will be the size of a microwave oven and some are the size of a small sports car.. some will simply melt/burn off in the upper atmosphere while others will hit us by surprise.<br /><br />That's almost verbatim from the discussions I've been in. <br /><br />Oh, I might add that the recent story of a large piece of ice that suddenly impacted in California might be one of the fragments. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[tom_hobbes]

Looking at the larger jpegs available at the Hubble site yesterday it is striking just how very shattered the comet appears. Am I wrong in thinking that the debris also appears to be spread over an extremely large area?<br /><br />If so, could internal stress alone account for such shattering? To my uninformed eye it looks more like it's been smashed to pieces by a fairly significant collision. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#339966"> I wish I could remember<br /> But my selective memory<br /> Won't let me</font><font size="2" color="#99cc00"> </font><font size="3" color="#339966"><font size="2">- </font></font><font size="1" color="#339966">Mark Oliver Everett</font></p><p> </p> </div>