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Asteroid To Be Naked-Eye Visible In 2029
An anonymous reader writes "SPACE.com is reporting that asteroid 2004 MN4 will fly so close to Earth in 2029 that it'll be visible to the naked eye. Other than barely-visible Vesta, this is a first. And 2004 MN4 will be about magnitude 3.3 -- like a dim but easily visible star. A moving star in this case. You might remember 2004 MN4 is the one that sparked worry, in December, that it would hit Earth. No worries, NASA says, just a once-in-a-millennium sky show."
Remind me in 24 years, my memory isn't that great.
Also a good test for our naquadria-enhanced nuclear warheads =)
My ride outta here, man. It's comin'.
What about Skynet? Are the evil robots just going to put their plan on hold so we can watch the asteriod? I don't know about you, but I would be much more concerned about the polished-chrome evil robots with freakin' lasers, if you know what I mean.
How about we build a Starbucks on it?
Unknown host pong.
I'm still waiting to see Halley's comet for the second time in my life (1986 when I was 10) and hopefully in 2061 (I'll be.... 85). Why ruin the fun by seeing this mere asteroid?
Sure
+/- 1 Apocalypse
Just the one? What if you're on the other side of the asteroid and want liquid refreshment?
FGD 135
Yep, no chance that could go horribly wrong.
Remind me to take a shuttle off-planet in case they get metric and English units confused again.
Let's land on it with vaguely space shuttle looking craft (with coolness enhancements) that somehow manage to make noises and maneuver like an air craft in a near-perfect vacuum! They could even send two, and they could film each others maneuvers, and then we'd get a documentary about it! Let's man the craft with completely inexperience, untrained non-astronauts who will drill into the asteroid and plant nukular bombs to blow the asteroid in two!
:-)
Cool, totally original idea huh
No worries, NASA says, just a once-in-a-millennium sky show.
Sure, that's how all these things start. But then later there is running and screaming!
this is a first
once-in-a-millenium
My friend, if this was a once-in-a-millenium occurance, this would be classified as "a 4,600,000th".
Or if you be of the Christian faith, a 6th.
After 288 clicks on the little calendar thingy I was able to add this event to my Outlook Calendar.
Though I REALLY hope I don't still work here then.....
Will Outlook 2029 be able to read my old calendar by then?
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for the are subtle and quick to anger.
Sorry to be a semantics pedant, but don't you mean semantics pedant?
Terrorists can't threaten a country's freedom and democracy. Only lawmakers and voters can do that.
Yes, but we better be prepared to defend from alian civilizations wanting to steal our roids.
If they want our roids, by all means let them take our roids.
Quite frankly, I've just about had it up to here *points at neck* with having to use with Preparation H.
Live forever, or die trying.
This is BBC news, its Friday, April 13, 2029, we join Patrick Moore at Greenwich to report on the flyby of asteroid MN4 2004..
Its clearly visible now, around Magnitude 3..
Now brighter..
magnitude 2.. 1..
My Word! What a treat for all you Astronomy buffs out there!
Magnitude 0.. -1.. -2..
It is the Brightest object in the sky now, clearly moving against the background of stars..
Magnitude -3.. -4..
But should it be this bright? And is it starting to get warm? Whats..
(Transmission cuts)
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
That would strategically be the strongest move, yes.
If you mod this up, your slashdot background will turn into a beautiful sunset!
I must have put a decimal point in the wrong place or something. I always do that. I always mess up some mundane detail.
Aerobrake it? That would be fuuun. But the sane solution is to use a lot of bungee rope...
Ok, since it is on topic and I feel compelled to embarrass myself...
I spent some time in December when the asteroid hype began and designed a graphic. I hoped to cash in on the end of the Earth hysteria; however, within four hours of setting up the CafePress shop, scientists discovered old observations, recomputed the trajectory, and confirmed the miss - all but ending my dreams of tongue in cheek panic-profiteering.
So I present to you the design that might have been.
Enjoy