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Science & Technology |
Asteroid to make close approach to Earth Monday |
2006-07-02 |
An asteroid speeding across the Northern sky will make its closet approach to Earth in more than 80 years Monday night -- and even then it will be farther away than the moon. Scientists say the rocky object, known as 2004XP14, poses no threat to the planet; it can't be seen by the naked eye. And because it is flying at a speed of nearly 11 miles a second -- nearly 4,000 mph -- it should prove an elusive target for even the best of amateur astronomers, even those armed with high-powered telescopes. John Giorgini, an astronomer and analyst with NASA's Near Earth Object Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the asteroid should be rising above the eastern portion of the northern horizon of the Bay Area at about 11 p.m. Monday. It will remain in the sky all night, he said, as it passes through the constellations Cassiopeia, Cepheus and Draco before the dawning sun washes out the dark night sky. |
Posted by:Fred |
#23 I blame global warming for this. |
Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2006-07-02 21:27 |
#22 Only in some liberal circles. I don't want to be publicly eviscerated, LOL. Usual punishment is the Rantburg stocks, but for egregious violators .... |
Posted by: lotp 2006-07-02 14:56 |
#21 No show-nymphs or show-anything-else glamor in my life, dammit! Just kidding. It's 24 by 7 "domestic bliss" and that's not a complaint but a fact. It's not yet illegal to be a regular old happy family, is it? :) Shane - LOL, Lol, lol! |
Posted by: Glaitch Groting9149 2006-07-02 14:19 |
#20 Heh. Why am I flashing on the end of the movie Shane? |
Posted by: PBMcL 2006-07-02 14:08 |
#19 'Mall Taxi Service duty'?? For sure you aren't .com :-) |
Posted by: Steve White 2006-07-02 14:01 |
#18 I've pulled Mall Taxi Service duty today, grumble grumble. Thavising Ebbiper9480, I don't know what else I can say except that whatever you believe is far beyond my control. If it makes you happy then it makes me happy too! LOL! Lol! lol! |
Posted by: Glaitch Groting9149 2006-07-02 13:35 |
#17 Lol, lol and now LOL. Heh. Methinks - yet - you are .com. Or am I suffering from a little CogDis? |
Posted by: Thavising Ebbiper9480 2006-07-02 12:32 |
#16 While I have no firm information, I suspect .com is having his clock cleaned, his oil changed and his transmission lubed by a Las Vegas show-nymph. All evidence of such welcomed. |
Posted by: Steve White 2006-07-02 12:32 |
#15 I don't remember a Lucky, but I remember a commetn I think where .com lamented his absence too. I hope he comes back too, he must have struck a chord. I take it back. No name-jacking should be allowed and I don't want to be publicly eviscerated, LOL. |
Posted by: Glaitch Groting9149 2006-07-02 12:09 |
#14 Can you do Lucky too? I miss him |
Posted by: Frank G 2006-07-02 12:04 |
#13 I wish, LOL. Hey, I'll pretend I'm .com if you'll cover me and take the heat when-if .com comes back from the jungle or desert or hell or heaven or Area 51. Wherever it is he's gone to. You'll have to ignore my much thinner comments too, since I can't flesh them out with anecdotes and stories. This is surreal. Because of liking a couple of movies? LOL. |
Posted by: Glaitch Groting.com 2006-07-02 11:52 |
#12 Got any pictures? |
Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-07-02 11:42 |
#11 Thavising Ebbiper9480 - LOL. Another ghost hunter. I'm not .com, unfortunately. Have you asked yourself why on earth .com would go into hiding? From who? From what? I've read many of his comments and he has no reason at all to hide. I'd welcome him back. Keep beating the bushes if it makes you feel better, though. You prolly need to compile a list of .comisms - as I have - methinks, LOL. It will help you look more authoritative. :-) |
Posted by: Glaitch Groting9149 2006-07-02 11:33 |
#10 Lol, Phil - a favorite! Ranks right up there with Army of Darkness, lol. Another Math B Hard reporter, I see. Hi .com, where've you been hiding of late? |
Posted by: Thavising Ebbiper9480 2006-07-02 11:14 |
#9 2004XP14 Not exactly a romantic name, is it? I guess asteroids don't warrant names from mythology. |
Posted by: xbalanke 2006-07-02 10:08 |
#8 Good grief, how much effort is there in typing into Google: 11 miles/second in miles/hour = 39,600 miles/hour |
Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-07-02 04:45 |
#7 Lol, Phil - a favorite! Ranks right up there with Army of Darkness, lol. Another Math B Hard reporter, I see. |
Posted by: Glaitch Groting9149 2006-07-02 04:38 |
#6 Couldn't we have gotten the poster from "Night of the Comet" instead? |
Posted by: Phil 2006-07-02 04:10 |
#5 Omygod, we're all gonna die!!! Oh, well, at least, this way, I can gorge on food like I do, without having to culpabilize anymore, since we're all goners... see you at the fridge! |
Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-07-02 02:29 |
#4 "Calling all cars. BOLO for a ginormous white-hot rock first blotting out the sun, then plunging into the earth's crust to a depth of several miles. That is al...[ACK!]" |
Posted by: Seafarious 2006-07-02 02:16 |
#3 Penguin - yep, missing a zero. |
Posted by: PBMcL 2006-07-02 00:44 |
#2 It's comin' right at us! |
Posted by: Lloyd Bridges 2006-07-02 00:42 |
#1 ...And because it is flying at a speed of nearly 11 miles a second -- nearly 4,000 mph Isn't he a little off? |
Posted by: Penguin 2006-07-02 00:37 |