2007 TU24
Published on Jan 26, 2008 at 10:46 pm.
9 Comments.
Filed under asteroids.
There has been considerable written about asteroid 2007 TU24 around the internet. I am not going to repeat all of that here. This asteroid was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey on October 11, 2007. What made this particular asteroid the subject of a lot of internet chatter is that it is passing fairly near Earth on January 29, 2008. At that time, it will be passing Earth at a distance of only 538,000 kilometers. Compare that with with the Moon’s average distance of about 384,000 kilometers. 2007 TU24’s orbit crosses from closer to the Sun than Earth to farther from the Sun than Earth. That makes 2007 TU24 an Apollo asteroid (one whose orbit does just that). However, I should point out that 2007 TU24 does not actually cross Earth’s orbit. It will be passing a bit north of Earth’s orbit (that is, it will pass Earth’s orbit while being slightly above Earth’s orbital plane) as it goes by. So, while it is passing fairly near Earth, in Solar System terms (remember, it is still quite a bit farther from us than the Moon), there is no danger at all of collision, despite what a number of scare mongers have been saying. Below, I have inserted an orbital diagram from JPL’s Solar System Dynamics website. I have seen versions of this on the internet where people have made a great deal of the fact that the two dots coincide on January 29. However, that is only because the applet that produces the diagram only is able to go up to a certain level of magnification.
Now, 2007 TU24 does, indeed, come quite close to Earth, in terms of asteroids. That means that it makes the list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids. But, it is not alone on that list. It has almost 1000 companions on that list. Being on the list does not mean that the asteroid will every hit Earth. It merely means that the asteroid bears monitoring, since perturbations in the asteroid’s orbit could bring it closer to Earth in the future. At present, though, calculations of the orbits of the asteroids including perturbations, do not show any of the asteroids on the list, including 2007 TU24, impacting Earth. In fact, several have come or will come much closer to Earth than 2007 TU24. But, 2007 TU24 is a bit bigger than many of the bodies on the list (though, for sure, not the largest on the list!). Initial estimates of this body’s size ranged from a few hundred feet across to nearly half a mile in extent. However, the asteroid was recently studied by radio telescope’s at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Network facility. Those radar observations produced the views at the top of this post, and they show that 2007 TU24 is elongated and about 800 feet long. While that is large enough to do serious damage if it were to hit us, it is tiny compared with the distances involved, so the asteroid will not affect Earth in any way as it goes by.
The asteroid will be large enough for amateur astronomers with large enough telescopes to see it as a dim dot passing through the sky. In fact, it will be only a bit dimmer than you’d expect to see with binoculars. Sky and Telescope magazine has an article with a finder chart on their web site. That chart only gives a rough idea of where to look, though, since the asteroid will be moving rather quickly.
So, to recap, an asteroid will pass by Earth in a few days, but it poses absolutely no danger at all. What we really have to worry about (if you want to worry) are the asteroids that we don’t know are out there.
-Astroprof
(Images courtesy NASA, JPL)
stargeezerastronomy.com » StarGeezer Observing Picks for the Week of January 27-Feb 2 on January 28, 2008 at 2:40 am: 1
[…] A pair of relatively small, rocky interlopers top the list of items of interest this week. A recently discovered asteroid designated Asteroid 2007 TU24 will sweep by Earth at a mere 334,000 miles (1.4 lunar distance) this week. TU24 will be visible for amateurs with small telescopes but at magnitude 10+ this tiny object will be visible only under dark, clear skies. TU24 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey on October 11, 2007 and has an estimated diameter of 800 feet. The asteroid’s nearest approach will be 29 January 08:33 UT (3:33 AM EST). The approach of this object is the closest currently known approach by a potentially hazardous asteroid of this size or larger until 2027. There is no chance of it hitting or affecting Earth. TU24 will be brightest the night of January 29-30. If you have a small telescope or binoculars and access to a reasonably dark site I urge you to attempt to locate and observe this object. Visit NASA’s Near Earth Objects Program site. For an excellent discussion on the TU24 encounter visit the Astroprofs website […]
Sorting Out Science » Blog Archive » Heads up! on January 28, 2008 at 8:36 am: 2
[…] Consider this. The hype over the non-collision of the asteroid 2007 TU24 with the Earth (tomorrow!) had hardly died down, when a new story took its place. […]
Sorting Out Science » Blog Archive » Heads up! on January 28, 2008 at 8:36 am: 3
[…] Consider this. The hype over the non-collision of the asteroid 2007 TU24 with the Earth (tomorrow!) had hardly died down, when a new story took its place. […]
EDISON CHAN on January 28, 2008 at 1:50 pm: 4
I COME FROM HONGKONG, AND I BELIEVE THAT ASTEROID 2007 TU24 HAD BEEN AFFECTED OUR WEATHER (EXTREMELY COLD IN CHINA)…….SOMETHING MAYBE HAPPENING IN ASIA…..THAT I HAVE SEEN SOMETHING SPECIAL IN THE SKY TONEIGHT…..
Al Gore on January 29, 2008 at 7:34 pm: 5
Reply to Edison Chang.
You stated: “I BELIEVE THAT ASTEROID 2007 TU24 HAD BEEN AFFECTED OUR WEATHER (EXTREMELY COLD IN CHINA)…….SOMETHING MAYBE HAPPENING IN ASIA”
Edison, it’s not just happening in China, it’s happening all over the Northern Hemisphere right now. It’s called WINTER, and winter is a product of GLOBAL WARMING!
Newton on January 30, 2008 at 2:30 am: 6
miss information that winter is a product of warming. Winter is a product of winter.
Astroprof on January 30, 2008 at 7:41 am: 7
Edison, the asteroid is not having any effect at all on Earth.
Al, elaborating on Newton’s comment. The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth, not global warming.
EDISON CHAN on January 30, 2008 at 11:32 am: 8
Hi guy, Nice to meet u all.
I’m Edison Chan that come from Hong Kong again. Please read the following BBC NEWS first:
“Storms roll across western USA by Frances Runnalls
A series of storms rolled across western USA on Tuesday, bringing high winds and snow from Washington State to northern Arizona. The snow forced the closure of a number of schools and offices, and caused chaos across a number of highways.
This type of storm is particularly unusual due to its widespread nature.It resulted from the combination of several storms which produced gusts of up to 70mph across the Midwest. One of the storms travelled up from California after dumping snow across the southern half of the state. It combined with a system originating from the Gulf of Alaska, and resulted in around 3 feet (35 inches) of snow falling across Colorado over the past two days.The weather system dragged cold air across the Northern Plains, which led to midday temperatures dropping to -24C (-11F) in some parts of Montana. As the snow began to melt, an emergency declaration for the threat if flooding was made for the Navajo reservation in Arizona and Utah.The worst may not be over as more storm systems are forecast to roll in from the west over the coming days.”
News said that “This type of storm is particularly unusual due to its widespread nature.”.I think TU24 is inside Earth’s magnetosphere there is going to be disturbance. Severe weather is being reported worldwide since TU24’s entry into the magnetosphere 29/1 to 30/1 .Remeber that such the extremely temperature drop changing only the past two days, And the electromagnetic risk (TU24 past over Earth) causes such weather disasters, not just only causing from gobal warming. From extreme conditions in China & HongKong(Never yet seen past 50 years before) to Canada and the States to extreme cold in the Middle East and snow in Jerusalem!
Temperatures in much of the US and around the world dropped dramatically shortly after the arrival of TU24.
Coincidence?
Astroprof on January 30, 2008 at 12:21 pm: 9
Coincidence, yes. These weather phenomena in the USA were predicted using standard computer models that did not include the asteroid. Besides, there is no electromagnetic impact. The asteroid is TINY compared to Earth. It is scarcely larger a few supertankers. These weather conditions have happened before, and they will happen again.