The bright blue line in the diagram above shows the orbit of the Russian meteor prior to the meteor breaking apart over the city of Chelyabinsk. The meteor hit the atmosphere at a speed of 18 km/s (11.2 miles per second or 40,300 mph). It was moving at a shallow entry angle (less than 20 …
According to NASA scientists, the trajectory of the Russian meteor was significantly different than the trajectory of the asteroid 2012 DA14, making it a completely unrelated object. Information is still being collected about the Russian meteor and analysis is preliminary at this point. In videos of the meteor, it is seen to pass from left …
This image shows asteroid 2012 DA14 and the Eta Carinae Nebula, with the white box highlighting the asteroid’s path. The image was taken using a 3″ refractor equipped with a color CCD camera. The telescope is located at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia and is maintained and owned by iTelescope.net.Image credit: NASA/MSFC/Aaron Kingery
NASA experts will hold a teleconference for news media at 4 p.m. EST today to discuss a meteor that streaked through the skies over Russia’s Urals region this morning. Scientists have determined the Russia meteor is not related to asteroid 2012 DA14 that will pass safely pass Earth today at a distance of more than …
Around 9:20 a.m. local time on February 15, 2013, a blazing mass of rock from space—a meteor—streaked across the sky over the Ural Mountains in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia. The burning mass produced a loud sonic boom and shock wave that blew out windows in multiple cities and towns. Russian media outlets are reporting hundreds of injuries, most minor, […]
Thurs. Feb. 7, 2013. Four Days Before Launch, Embassy Suites, Lompoc, Calif. After arriving at my hotel for my first rocket launch, I started loading up my plate at Sonny’s complimentary breakfast. Not knowing anyone, I walked up to a nearby group of strangers and asked if I could sit down. As it turns out, […]
It felt a bit like I had wandered into an exclusive Silicon Valley pool party. There were palm trees, deck chairs, even a heated pool that was steaming in the morning chill. Bobak Ferdowsi (a.k.a. the “NASA Mohawk guy”) of Mars Curiosity fame was milling around. Camilla, the ever-adventurous SDO-obsessed rubber chicken, was posing for […]
In digging for news on the nor’easter that whacked New England (and my house in southeastern Massachusetts), I happened upon several compelling images. Marshall Shepherd, current president of the American Meteorological Society and director of the atmospheric science program at the University of Georgia, tweeted out this annotated version of a Terra MODIS satellite image […]
This is the most common question we are asked, and the answer is “maybe.” It all depends on where you are located and what sort of equipment you have. Closest approach will be around 19:25 UTC on February 15; this will be when the asteroid will be at its brightest. Even at this time, when 2012 …
