Asteroid 2012 DA14 Approaches 94
Today at about 19:25 UTC (2:25 PM EST), Asteroid 2012 DA14 will make its closest approach to Earth, passing a mere 27,650 kilometers above the surface — closer than our satellites in geosynchronous orbit. NASA is broadcasting a live-steam showing the asteroid from an Observatory, and will have coverage on NASA TV starting about a half-hour before closest approach. The Planetary Society will be broadcasting a live webcast, and Phil Plait will be hosting a Google+ Hangout. NASA has also compiled a nice post filled with information about the asteroid, including trajectory diagrams, animated videos of the path, and answers to question about 2012 DA14. You can also watch it move at 50x actual speed through a telescope. They take pains to note that there is no danger of the asteroid striking the planet today, or any time in the forseeable future. Its next notably close approach in 2046 will only bring it about a million kilometers away. What makes 2012 DA14 significant is that it's rather large — it's 45 meters across and weighs about 130,000 metric tons. It's also moving about 7.8 kilometers per second relative to Earth. "To view the asteroid, you will need a good pair of binoculars, or even better, a moderately powered telescope. During the closest approach, and dependant on local weather, the asteroid will be visible from parts of Europe, Africa and Asia. The asteroid will appear to be moving relatively quickly as it crosses the sky from the south to the north." NASA says this morning's meteor event in Russia was unrelated.
are we sure it has nothing to do with DA14? (Score:3, Interesting)
wouldn't it be possible that for every rock we see in space there are some smaller rocks held in loose gravitational formation?
these things have been out there for a very very long time. plenty of time to pick up loose junk
i mean look at pluto: every time we look at it we find a new pebble moon. pluto is not exactly a gravitational power house. it's just that the neighborhood is full of a lot of flotsam and jetsam
i wouldn't be surprised that deep space objects, no matter the size, are often loose agglomerations of stuff
i think it is very possible that this meteor very much is (was) associated with DA14
Re:Delta-V (Score:4, Interesting)
It's moving about 8km/s relatively, with a periapsis of about 27000km. Orbital speed at GEO is about 3km/s. It has a mass of 190000 metric tons.
You should be able to calculate the delta-V from all that.