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Asteroid to pass within 12,000km of Earth

By Amy Simmons

Updated June 27, 2011 14:25:00

2011 MD will be among the closest an asteroid has come to Earth. (File photo) (European Space Agency: C Carreau )

An asteroid which is set to pass within 12,000 kilometres of Earth tonight is a timely reminder there is more to our environment than meets the eye, astronomers say.

The 2011 MD asteroid, which is about the size of two buses, will pass over Australia about 11:00pm.

Experts say there is no chance of impact and Fred Watson from the Australian Astronomical Observatory says there won’t be much of a spectacle.

He says the object is “tiny”, and will only be visible from large telescopes in South Africa.

“The best place to see it will be just north of the Antarctic coast, about 3,000 kilometres south-west of South Africa,” he said.

“We won’t see anything in Australia. If they’ve got quite big telescopes in South Africa they might see something.”

He says it will look similar to a shooting star, but will move much more gracefully across the sky.

Mr Watson says while 2011 MD will pass “quite close” to the Earth, others have come much closer.

“There was another asteroid back in February this year which was down at 5,500 kilometres,” he said. “But even then, nothing happened really.”

This asteroid is bigger than the one in February, but Mr Watson says there is still no chance it will enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

Even if it did, he says 2011 MD would pose no threat to life on Earth.

“Absolutely no possibility,” he said.

“Its orbit is very well defined. Its nearest approach will be 12,000 kilometres. It’s nowhere near the vicinity of the Earth.”

It will, however, come close to several communications satellites.

“There is no danger of a collision though,” he said.

“On the incoming trajectory of the asteroid it will pass outside the geosynchronous satellite and when it’s outgoing it will pass inside.

“There are satellites that orbit at that distance but there aren’t many of them. Most are either in a much lower or higher orbit.”

Mr Watson says the closeness of 2011 MD is a reminder to people that events on Earth have the potential to be shaped by asteroids – “like the annihilation of the dinosaurs”.

“It reminds people we live in an environment littered with debris of this kind, which is actually the leftovers of the solar system’s formation about 4.6 billion years ago,” he said.

“It alerts people to the fact we live in a dynamic environment and space is worth watching.”

He says astronomers are keeping a close eye on an asteroid called Apophis, which will come very close to the Earth in 2029.

“It’s not impossible that something will collide with the Earth in the future. There are objects we know will present a potential threat,” he said.

“In 2029 there is one that will pass very close to the Earth but probably won’t hit the Earth. But depending on how near the Earth it goes, it might be deflected into an orbit that will take it onto a collision course, probably in the 2030s.”

Tags: science-and-technology, astronomy, planets-and-asteroids, australia, south-africa

First posted June 27, 2011 12:38:00

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Patti LaBelle earns BET’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Patti LaBelle won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards on Sunday night.

Chris Pizzello/AP

Patti LaBelle won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards on Sunday night.

Chris Brown may have been the big winner of Sunday night’s BET Awards, but Patti LaBelle was the queen of the ceremony.

The legendary singer was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award — and was feted with an all-star tribute courtesy of Cee Lo Green (who dressed as LaBelle in a spiky dark wig), Marsha Ambrosius and Shirley Caesar.

Then LaBelle took the stage herself to show everyone how it’s done.

The 67-year-old icon — who accepted the prestigious award from Gladys Knight — performed a medley of her hits including “Lady Marmalade.”

Beyonce, who honored LaBelle via satellite because she’s headlining England’s Glastonbury Festival, described the impact the singer had on her own musical aspirations.

“When anyone asks me who I want to be like, I always say Patti LaBelle,” she said.

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Earth’s date with asteroid delayed a few hours

WASHINGTON – An asteroid that is coming within cosmic kissing distance of Earth is going to be a little late for its date with our planet. But there is still no chance it will hit Earth.

New observations now have astronomers saying the asteroid, called 2011 MD, won’t swing close by Earth until 1 p.m. EDT Monday, about three and-a-half hours later than they first thought. It won’t come as close either. It’ll come about 7,600 miles near Earth, 100 miles further than first forecast.

The asteroid is between 15 feet and 60 feet wide. It will be bright enough a medium-sized telescope might be able to see it.

Earlier this year an even smaller space rock came within 3,400 miles of Earth.

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NASA’s near Earth object program: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html

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Close Shave: Asteroid to Just Miss Earth Today

An asteroid the size of a tour bus will fly past Earth today (June 27) so closely it will be beneath some of the planet’s satellites.

The rock, named asteroid 2011 MD will zoom by just 7,500 miles (12,000 km) above the planet, making a sharp turn forced by Earth’s gravity before winging off into space again. The flyby will occur at about 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT).

There is no risk of an impact, NASA scientists said. The space rock, estimated to be between 29 to 98 feet (9 to 30 meters) wide, is likely too small to survive a plunge through our atmosphere anyway. An asteroid this size, if it were mostly stony, would break apart and burn up before hitting the surface. Iron-heavy space rocks are better at surviving the fiery entry, however.

Either way, calculations show that asteroid 2011 MD will make a dogleg shift in its trajectory and scoot on by.

“There is no chance that 2011 MD will hit Earth but scientists will use the close pass as opportunity to study it w/ radar observations,” astronomers with NASA’s Asteroid Watch program at JPL said. [Photos: Asteroids in Deep Space]

At closest approach, the asteroid will be above the coast of Antarctica. It will be well below geosynchronous satellites, which orbit 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above Earth. Experts say there is little chance the rock will hit a satellite, simply because of the vast expanse and relatively small number of satellites.

The asteroid will remain well above the orbit of the International Space Station, which flies about 220 miles (354 km) above Earth.

Objects the size of 2011 MD usually make close Earth passes like today’s event every six years or so, NASA estimates. However, not all of them are discovered. This rock was discovered June 22. The closest recorded space rock pass was made by asteroid 2011 CQ1, which came within 3,400 miles (5,471 kilometers) of Earth on Feb. 4 of this year.

Asteroid 2011 MD will be likely visible in medium-sized telescopes by experienced observers who are able to find and track a moving object. Even NASA doesn’t expect to see much, however.

“We won’t likely be releasing photos of the object since they would only be points of light,” Don Yeomans, of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told SPACE.com. “Radar astronomers will attempt observations but 2011 MD is so small that even if successful, there are not likely to be any noteworthy images released.”

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.