APOD: Pan STARRS and Nebulae (2012 Oct 12)

[APOD Robot]

Pan STARRS and Nebulae

Explanation: A single image from the world's most powerful survey instrument captured this spectacular skyview. Looking toward Sagittarius, the scene spans nearly 3 degrees or six times the width of the Full Moon. At bottom, upper right, and lower left it covers the Lagoon Nebula (M8), the Trifid Nebula (M20), and NGC 6559, in the crowded, dusty starfields of the central Milky Way. The adopted color scheme shows dust reddened starlight in red hues and normally red emission from hydrogen atoms in green. Built and operated by the Pan-STARRS project, the instrument features a 1.4 gigapixel (billion pixel) digital camera and telescope. Pan-STARRS, the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System, is intended to scan the skies for potentially dangerous near-earth asteroids and comets, exploring the Universe with a unique high resolution, wide field view.

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[Boomer12k]

Hate to be the one looking for asteroids in all that....Actually....hmmm...at least I would have job for quite awhile...hmmmm....

I wonder if I can get a grant from the government and get me set up like that....hmmmm....maybe a space telescope....yeah....

I would like to see a picture like that as a MURAL in a domed building...you walk in and BAM there is the night sky the way a CAMERA sees it....all the emission, reflection, planetary nebula, the stars, Milky Way, at a size you could at least tell what and where you were looking at...and at intervals, an overlay of the Constellations, major names and labels would be displayed too. This would be a huge building and task, I know, but it would be cool...

:---[===] *

[madtom1999]

Asteroid what asteroid?
It might not save us from an impact but at least some of us will go out going 'WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

[bystander]

Asteroid what asteroid?
It might not save us from an impact but at least some of us will go out going 'WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

Maybe this one.

Asteroid 2012 TC4 to Buzz Earth on October 12
Universe Today | Nancy Atkinson | 2012 Oct 11

Asteroid 2012 TC4 will give Earth a relatively close shave on October 12, 2012, passing at just a quarter of the distance to the orbit of the Moon. Discovered by Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii just last week on October 4, 2012, and it will pass by at about 88,000 kilometers (59,000 miles) away. Estimates on the size of this space rock vary from 17 to 30 meters, but NASA has indicated they will have telescopes trained on the asteroid as it makes its near Earth flyby — closest approach is just before 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) on Friday. Radar measurements can provide more details on the asteroid’s size and orbital characteristics.

[orin stepanek]

Asteroid what asteroid?
It might not save us from an impact but at least some of us will go out going 'WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

Maybe this one.

Asteroid 2012 TC4 to Buzz Earth on October 12
Universe Today | Nancy Atkinson | 2012 Oct 11

Asteroid 2012 TC4 will give Earth a relatively close shave on October 12, 2012, passing at just a quarter of the distance to the orbit of the Moon. Discovered by Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii just last week on October 4, 2012, and it will pass by at about 88,000 kilometers (59,000 miles) away. Estimates on the size of this space rock vary from 17 to 30 meters, but NASA has indicated they will have telescopes trained on the asteroid as it makes its near Earth flyby — closest approach is just before 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) on Friday. Radar measurements can provide more details on the asteroid’s size and orbital characteristics.

Well it's after 7 CDT; I'm still here; so it's passed by! Whew!

[owlice]

lol, Orin!!

[Wadsworth]

TC4..
How fast was it going, and how much damage could a 30m asteroid do?

[zbvhs]

How does the system actually detect asteroids? Some sort of automated blink-comparison process?

[neufer]

TC4.. How fast was it going, and how much damage could a 30m asteroid do?

<<Asteroid 2012 TC4 will give Earth a relatively close shave on October 12, 2012, passing at just a quarter of the distance to the orbit of the Moon. Discovered by Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii just last week on October 4, 2012, and it will pass by at about 88,000 kilometers away. Estimates on the size of this space rock vary from 17 to 30 meters.>>

[b][color=#0000FF]The main Kaali crater is nearly circular. When the water level is low, rocks can be seen penetrating the surface: in the middle of the crater.[/color][/b]

---

<<Kaali is a group of 9 meteorite craters located on the Estonian island of Saaremaa. Formed in the 7th century BC or about 4000 years ago (estimates vary), it is one of the most recent craters created by an impact event and the only known major impact event that has occurred in a populated area.

The impact is thought to have occurred in the Holocene, around 4000 ± 1000 years ago. The craters were formed by an incoming meteor with an estimated impact velocity of between 10 and 20 km/s with a total mass of between 20 and 80 metric tonnes.

At an altitude of 5–10 km, the meteorite broke into pieces and fell to the Earth in fragments, the greatest of which produced a crater with a diameter of 110 m and a depth of 22 m. Kaali Lake (Estonian: Kaali järv) exists in the bottom of this crater. Eight smaller craters are also associated with this bombardment. Their diameters range from 12 to 40 meters and their respective depths vary from one to four meters. They are all within one kilometer of the main crater.

At the time of the impact, Estonia was in the Nordic Bronze Age and the site was forested with a small human population. The impact energy of about 80 TJ (20 kilotons of TNT) is comparable with that of the Hiroshima bomb blast. It incinerated forests within a 6 km radius.

Scholars maintain that the event figured prominently in regional mythology. It was, and still is, considered a sacred lake. There is archaeological evidence that it may well have been a place of ritual sacrifice. At some point during the early Iron Age, the lake was surrounded by a stone wall measuring 470 meters in length, with a median width of about 2.5 meters and an average height of 2.0 meters.

Finnish mythology has stories that may originate with the formation of Kaali. One of them is in runes 47, 48 and 49 of the Kalevala epic: Louhi, the evil wizard, steals the Sun and fire from people, causing total darkness. Ukko, the god of the sky, orders a new Sun to be made from a spark. The virgin of the air starts to make a new Sun, but the spark drops from the sky and hits the ground. This spark goes to an "Aluen" or "Kalevan" lake and causes its water to rise. Finnish heroes see the ball of fire falling somewhere "behind the Neva river" (the direction of Estonia from Karelia). The heroes head that direction to seek fire, and they finally gather flames from a forest fire.

According to a theory first proposed by Lennart Meri, it is possible that Saaremaa was the legendary Thule island, first mentioned by ancient Greek geographer Pytheas, whereas the name "Thule" could have been connected to the Finnic word tule ("(of) fire") and the folklore of Estonia, which depicts the birth of the crater lake in Kaali. Kaali was considered the place where "The sun went to rest.">>

<<Kālī is the Hindu goddess associated with empowerment, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Since Shiva is called Kāla—the eternal time—Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" (as in time has come). Hence, Kāli is the Goddess of Time and Change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilator of evil forces still has some influence. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shākta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. She is also revered as Bhavatārini (literally "redeemer of the universe"). Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kāli as a benevolent mother goddess.>>

[bystander]

TC4.. How fast was it going, and how much damage could a 30m asteroid do?

According Astro Bob, at around the time of closest approach (88,000 kilometers or 59,000 miles), 2012 TC4 was sailing through the stars of Sagittarius at approximately one degree (two full moon diameters) every 5 minutes. How fast that is in more mundane terms, I'll leave for someone else to compute.

How much damage depends on that speed, the size of the asteroid, its composition, and perhaps most importantly for an asteroid this size, where it hits. Meteor Crater (Barringer) in Arizona is about 1,200 m (4,000 ft) in diameter and some 170 m deep (570 ft). It is thought to have been formed by a meteor about 40 meters (130 feet) across, slightly larger than TC4 (17m to 30m). Obviously, if it struck New York City it would cause more damage than if it struck in Death Valley.

[Wadsworth]

"The impact energy of about 80 TJ (20 kilotons of TNT) is comparable with that of the Hiroshima bomb blast. It incinerated forests within a 6 km radius."


So it would have made the evening news..

[neufer]

TC4.. How fast was it going, and how much damage could a 30m asteroid do?

According Astro Bob, at around the time of closest approach (88,000 kilometers or 59,000 miles), 2012 TC4 was sailing through the stars of Sagittarius at approximately one degree (two full moon diameters) every 5 minutes. How fast that is in more mundane terms, I'll leave for someone else to compute.

How much damage depends on that speed, the size of the asteroid, its composition, and perhaps most importantly for an asteroid this size, where it hits. Meteor Crater (Barringer) in Arizona is about 1,200 m (4,000 ft) in diameter and some 170 m deep (570 ft). It is thought to have been formed by a meteor about 40 meters (130 feet) across, slightly larger than TC4 (17m to 30m). Obviously, if it struck New York City it would cause more damage than if it struck in Death Valley.

Code: Select all

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Kaali               1,000 ton(?)  12.7 km/s        80 TJ       20 kilotons of TNT 
..............................................................................
2012 TC4           30,000 ton     12.7 km/s     2,400 TJ      600 kilotons of TNT 
Barringer Meteor  300,000 ton     12.7 km/s    24,000 TJ    6,000 kilotons of TNT 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The impact energy of about 80 TJ (20 kilotons of TNT) is comparable with that of the Hiroshima bomb blast.
It incinerated forests within a 6 km radius."

So it would have made the evening news..

[list]WKYC-TV[/list]

[blimp]

Hey! Where can I get a full res 1.4 gigapixel shot...

[bystander]

Hey! Where can I get a full res 1.4 gigapixel shot...

Making those kind of images are probably not a high priority. You will probably have to wait for the data to become publicly available and make your own.

[Chris Peterson]

TC4..
How fast was it going, and how much damage could a 30m asteroid do?

Probably no damage. A 30m diameter stony asteroid probably lacks the mass to make it to the ground still carrying any of its original velocity. It would likely break up while miles high, most of the mass would be lost to ablation, and possibly a meteorite storm would result- thousands of small pieces falling to the ground over a few square miles, without enough energy to do much damage (although you wouldn't want to be hit!)