Visitors from outer space we can see
July 8th 2007 11:50
Our Earth is constantly being bombarded by visitors from outer space.
I am not refereeing to the science fiction variety, I mean the dust partials and larger fragments that cross earth’s orbital path on a daily basis (although I am a being a bit dramatic with the opening title of this article.)
Meteors hit our upper atmosphere constantly. Partials range from a grain of sand to basketball sizes and beyond.
I is interesting that the beyond sizes are numerous in number. There are very large pieces of real estate out there whizzing around and some even come in close encounters with earth at very high speed in the region of thousands of kilometer per hour. There is a plethora of very large objects same as big as houses or larger.
Although our atmosphere does offer some protection when meteorites strike the upper atmosphere; however a number of objects manage to strike the ground.
Some large objects are deflected back into space others manage to burn up leaving spectacular fireballs in the sky and at time can be seen in daylight.
Near misses with Earth are a common occurrence whereby large fragments of metallic rock at times called asteroids tends to cross Earth’s orbit. Planet earth has had numerous encounters in past with disastrous consequences. On average earth can be hit by a large asteroid every 60.000 years or so.
Thankfully we can track possible potential threat with the advent of sophisticated radar and specially adapted telescopes.
This picture asteroid designated 951 Gaspara a potato shaped asteroid was taken by Galileo spacecraft this asteroid is about 19 x 12 x 11 kilometers in length.
If you are interested in finding out how many near misses we have each year there is a great website to visit
I am not refereeing to the science fiction variety, I mean the dust partials and larger fragments that cross earth’s orbital path on a daily basis (although I am a being a bit dramatic with the opening title of this article.)
Meteors hit our upper atmosphere constantly. Partials range from a grain of sand to basketball sizes and beyond.
I is interesting that the beyond sizes are numerous in number. There are very large pieces of real estate out there whizzing around and some even come in close encounters with earth at very high speed in the region of thousands of kilometer per hour. There is a plethora of very large objects same as big as houses or larger.
Although our atmosphere does offer some protection when meteorites strike the upper atmosphere; however a number of objects manage to strike the ground.
Some large objects are deflected back into space others manage to burn up leaving spectacular fireballs in the sky and at time can be seen in daylight.
Near misses with Earth are a common occurrence whereby large fragments of metallic rock at times called asteroids tends to cross Earth’s orbit. Planet earth has had numerous encounters in past with disastrous consequences. On average earth can be hit by a large asteroid every 60.000 years or so.
Thankfully we can track possible potential threat with the advent of sophisticated radar and specially adapted telescopes.
Gaspara
This picture asteroid designated 951 Gaspara a potato shaped asteroid was taken by Galileo spacecraft this asteroid is about 19 x 12 x 11 kilometers in length.
If you are interested in finding out how many near misses we have each year there is a great website to visit
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Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
What was really puzzling, there was no mention in the press about it, I guess they decided it would only alarm the Melbournites for no good reason. I always wondered whether it managed to hit, the ocean obviously, or if it burned up. I also wondered whose it was, as the Americans had stopped using the Saturn a long time ago, or so I thought.
But speaking of meteorites, my dad was an exploration geologist, and he used to have an Australite, it was small, about an inch in diameter, very black, a little pitted, and very surprisingly heavy for its size. He gave it away one night, to a friend of my sister, he was a little 'merry' at the time!
Anyhoo, do you remember the Leonid Shower about seven years ago? It was billed as being huge, so my friends and I set out into the countryside to get a good look. As we drove along, nearing our destination, we spotted a massive fireball, I think it is called a bollide...not sure, it was firey orange red, and had a tail about a third the length of the windscreen, with a very flat almost horizontal trajectory. We then thought, here we go! This will be a great night! But, sadly, it was the only one, all the others were tiny little streaks of white barely noticeable! I don't think I'll bother going to all that trouble again!
cheers
fog
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
cheers
fog