[meteorite-list] asteroid flyby

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun Jul 2 23:37:18 2006
Message-ID: <009801c69e51$f5f4f990$cbe5fb44_at_ATARIENGINE>

Hi,

    The asteroid is 2004 XP14. It will make its "close approach"
at 268,873 miles (432,709km) above the west coast of North
America at 0440 GMT Monday morning, about 10% further
away than the Moon's orbit.

    It will NOT be visible to the naked eye. It will take at least an
eight-inch telescope, good eyesight, experience at finding things
by their celestial coordinates alone, dark skies, no clouds, good
seeing... A programmable go-to capable scope would be a big
help, and so would a ten, eleven, or twelve inch instead of an
eight...

    A lot of news stories are using the "Giant Asteroid Will Be
Visible" or a variation thereon for their headline, but this is
only true in the sense that if 2004 XP14 were not near the
Earth, it would not be visible in any scope that cost less than
$300,000,000.

    I also see a lot of headlines that use the term "Giant Asteroid"
as well. 2004 XP14 might be as large as 940 meters (or as small
as 300). This makes it a giant if compared to a 50 meter rock, but
not much of a giant... It's like the little circus that had two acts:
"The World's Smallest Giant" and "The World's Largest Midget,"
both performed by the same individual (who was about average
height).

    A good general news story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5133900.stm
    or, for more detail:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060626_asteroid_close.html
    or:
http://space.com/spacewatch/060629_night_sky.html


Sterling K. Webb
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: allum melanie
To: meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2006 5:25 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] asteroid flyby


Has anyone any information about the asteroid that is visible to the eye as
it makes a close pass on July 3,2006 ??? Heard a story on it on news in car.
It was stated that its 1/2 mile across. thanks M


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Received on Sun 02 Jul 2006 11:37:07 PM PDT