Near-Earth objects and close calls

https://twitter.com/x/status/1272665383447801861

Caught on camera: Green fireball believed to be asteroid streaks across night sky
Astronomers believe it was "asteroid 2002 N-N-4," which was scheduled to pass Earth around 11:20 p.m. on Sunday.


AUSTRALIA (KABC) -- Night owls in a remote part of western Australia captured a stunning green fireball streaking across the night sky.

Astronomers believe it was "asteroid 2002 N-N-4," which was scheduled to pass Earth around 11:20 p.m. on Sunday.


It may look small, but that asteroid is estimated to be the size of six football fields.

Despite being clearly visible, NASA says the asteroid was more than 3 million miles away from our planet, 13 times further away than the moon, so there's no risk of it hitting the Earth.
abc7.com

Caught on camera: Green fireball believed to be asteroid streaks across night sky

Night owls in a remote part of western Australia captured a stunning green fireball streaking across the night sky.
abc7.com abc7.com
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If someone can explain to me how an asteroid travelling at 20,000 mph and be 13 times farther from us than the moon or 3.2 millions miles from us, can cross the entire sky, from horizon to horizon in a few second, I will belive this.

Until then, I call it damage control.

www.usatoday.com

Stadium-sized asteroid will swing 'close' by Earth on Saturday. Thankfully, it will miss us.

The damage 2002 NN4 could inflict on Earth is\u00a0catastrophic, but experts say it will remain a safe distance away.
www.usatoday.com www.usatoday.com


It's the kind of asteroid that some scientists worry about, and it's coming relatively close to Earth on Saturday. Thankfully, it is expected to remain a safe distance away.

Named 2002 NN4, the asteroid is more than 1,000 feet across and will swing by near enough to make it onto NASA's "close approach" list, which documents near-Earth objects and the dates they approach our planet.

It's traveling at more than 20,000 mph — so the damage 2002 NN4 could inflict on earth is catastrophic, Derek Buzasi, professor of physics at Florida Gulf Coast University, told USA TODAY. He said 2002 NN4 is bigger than roughly 90% of asteroids and likened it to a football stadium.

Thankfully, this particular space rock is predicted to stay more than 3 million miles away — or 13 times farther from us than the Moon, NASA said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY. The path of the asteroid is expected to vary by only around 125 miles.
 
Laurentien2 said:
Five more on there way this week,
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Any time NASA or amateur sources report incoming asteroids or comets would be zipping by at any future date we should look for volcanic eruptions and tectonic activities. These heavy space rocks and lighter comets have massive electromagnetic fields extending far beyond them: so while the asteroid / comet is still far away, its EM-field can punch into our planets mantle, which is the same as if an attacker gave you a heavy punch in the stomach. Earth reacts with volcanic eruptions and similar strength weather. Conversely any time a volcano erupts, we should look for comets and meteors nearby responsible for the geological activity.
 
Below is apparently a picture of comet NEOWISE from July 4th, Mexico - the Tweeter is generally reliable. The last i read it was considered naked eye but the only photographs of it were taken using equipment, one also commented that the nucleus looked stable (i.e. that it didn't look like it was going to break up anytime soon):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1279583831243124736

And below is an update about NEOWISE from SpaceWeather:
BRIGHT MORNING COMET: Comets are usually seen in the dark of night. Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) is different. The incredible morning comet is surrounded by twilight-blue. Fred Espenak of Portal, AZ, took this picture just before daybreak on the 4th of July:


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"It was my second morning observing Comet NEOWISE," says Espenak. "Wow! The comet was easy to see in 7x40 binoculars. With the naked eye, it was much more difficult, but I think I caught glimpses of it with a bit of averted vision."


Comet NEOWISE passed by the sun near the orbit of Mercury on July 3rd, and it is only now starting to emerge from the sun's glare. Espenak photographed the comet less than an hour before local sunrise while the sky was filled with moderate twilight.

Despite the ambient glare, Espenak was able to accurately estimate the comet's magnitude. "Using the nearby stars Theta Auriga (v=+2.6) and Beta Tauri (Elnath, v=+1.7), I would estimate that the nucleus of NEOWISE was about +2," he says. "If this brightness holds, the comet will become much easier to see in coming days when it can be seen in a darker sky." Sky maps: July 4, 5, 6.
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Laurentien2 said:
Some more visitor this week-end,

www.rt.com

Five asteroids to fly past Earth in coming week, as NASA identifies space rock with highest odds of hitting us

NASA’s asteroid watchers have given a heads-up about five asteroids headed toward Earth in the coming days, while the agency’s automated Sentry system has identified the space rock which has the highest chance of impact.
www.rt.com www.rt.com
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These definitely will give our planet a flurry of professional boxer punches with their strong EM fields extending far beyond the physical comet bodies and tails. In boxing circles such a combination of two or three or more punches is always declared as most desirable, the best to train for, since at least one of the punches has a high chance to hit. Watch for volcanic eruptions next week as our planet's mantle will surely get hit, then Earth groans and spews forth lava.
 
Spaceweather reports that comet NEOWISE has a 'supersized' nucleus, it's 5km across. One wonders whether this will have any effect during its trip out of the solar system.

They also mention the recent CME's, and i wonder whether NEOWISE's trip around the Sun is related? They don't say. A few tweets i posted said, if they are earth bound, they'll be here around July 13th.

www.sott.net

Comet NEOWISE has "supersized" nucleus, sprouts another tail

Comet NEOWISE just keeps getting better. Not only is it visible to the naked eye in morning twilight, but also, now, it has two tails. Sebastian Voltmer photographed them over the village church of Spicheren, France. The brighter of the two is...
www.sott.net www.sott.net

COMET NEOWISE HAS A SUPER-SIZED NUCLEUS: Now we know why Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) is so bright. Its nucleus is huge. Researchers working with NASA's NEOWISE spacecraft have analyzed infrared emissions from the comet's core, shown here in discovery images from March 2020:


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The glow is proportional to the size of the nucleus--the nugget of dust and frozen gas at the heart of the comet. "From its infrared signature, we can tell that [the nucleus] is about 5 kilometers across," says Joseph Masiero, NEOWISE deputy principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.


"5 km is extremely large for a comet approaching this close to the sun (think Comet McNaught-sized), which explains its high activity," says Qicheng Zhang, a PhD student in planetary sciences at Caltech.


On July 3rd, Comet NEOWISE passed by the sun near the orbit of Mercury. The oversized nucleus helped it survive the encounter, which some comets would have found too hot to handle. Now NEOWISE's sun-heated core is spewing massive amounts of dust and gas, creating a worldwide sensation.


"Here is my daughter Izar ('Star' in the Basque language) pointing out the comet in the sunrise sky over Girona, Catalonia, Spain," says photographer Juan Carlos Casado. "It was easy to see with the naked eye."


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"Foreground lighting in the photo is natural, provided by the Moon," he adds.


For Comet NEOWISE, the future looks bright. Its large nucleus is a reservoir of dust and gas that should continue to fill the comet's double tail with visible material for weeks to come.

Observing tips: Wake up about 90 minutes before sunrise, find a place with a clear horizon, and look northeast. The comet is visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy patch with a tail. Binoculars are recommended for full effect. Sky maps: July 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.

A "CANYON OF FIRE" ON THE SUN: During the late hours of July 8th, a magnetic filament on the sun became unstable and snapped. The eruption cut a "canyon of fire" in the sun's atmosphere and hurled a faint coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. NOAA analysts are modeling the CME now to see if it might hit Earth's magnetic field in the days ahead. Stay tuned for updates. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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Comet C / 2020 Neowise pictured by Croatian Astronomical Association "Perzeidi" :-)

https://www.facebook.com/krizevackaastronomska.udrugaperzeidi/posts/2634339976819391

Comet C / 2020 Neowise. 🤩
Here’s our catch of this beautiful space traveler or “hairy star” as the ancient Greeks called it! 😜
Really impressive sight!
It is very nice to see with the naked eye, the last one so noticeable and beautiful was Hale-Bopp in 1997.
The first photo is a combination of images from the small Megrez 72 telescope and the Canon 70-300 telephoto lens.
The others are “single shot” with a Canon 70-300 lens.
All shot with a Canon 600D, from a fixed photo stand. 😁
Brightly!
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