4th May; 4,350 miles over Pacific Ocean; 2020JJ; ~2.7-6m dia -- Re: 2020, year of 98ft, 10,000 mph asteroids exploding in atmosfear (tonight) - be afraid & Get Out Yer Telescopes :D

[Zig the N.g]

On Fri, Mar 20, 2020 at 07:26:28AM -0400, grarpamp wrote:
> 2020EF and 2020DP4 are moot.
> 
> The bad boys are out there, lucky if you know ahead of time,
> nothing you can do about the ones you would know about
> that are relavant to and in your lifetime anyway.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-Earth_object
> https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/sentry/
> https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/
> https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/


The 6th closest asteroid to Earth recorded since 1900, named 2020JJ, which escaped detection prior to arrival over the Pacific Ocean on 4th May 2020, was not very big - just "truck sized" at about 2.7 to 6 meters diameter and therefore likely would have burnt up in the atmosphere prior to hitting the Earth if it had been on a collision course.

   Truck-Sized Asteroid Avoids Detection Ahead of Near-Record Close Flyby Over Earth
   https://sputniknews.com/science/202005061079222704-truck-sized-asteroid-avoids-detection-ahead-of-near-record-close-flyby-over-earth-/

      .. CNET highlighted that out of the top 10 closest near-Earth flybys recorded by NASA since 1900, 2020 JJ ranks as the sixth-closest approach. Moreover, all of the asteroids in NASA’s top 10 passed by in 2004 or later.

      “This isn't because asteroids started attacking us in the 21st century. Rather, it says something about how astronomers and their technology are becoming better at spotting ever-smaller and closer asteroids,” noted CNET’s Eric Mack. ...



The next big-ish asteroid we no longer need to really keep an eye on is 99942 Apophis, ~370m diameter, next due 2029 and on course to fly BELOW geosynchronous (some satellites) orbit:

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis

which as of December 2004, briefly reached "4" on the Torino Scale (0-10, higher is worse, comparing kinetic energy with probability of impact), the highest level of any object recorded so far:

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torino_scale


For the time being, for all yer fear porn, look elsewhere than asteroids..