(meteorobs) BOULDER SIZED ASTEROID WILL BURN UP IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE TONIGHT

[Skywayinc at aol.com]

THE FOLLOWING RELEASE WAS RECEIVED FROM THE  HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER
FOR ASTROPHYSICS, IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, AND  IS FORWARDED FOR
YOUR INFORMATION.  
 
October 6, 2008
 
Contact:
David Aguilar
1-617-495-7462
_daguilar at cfa.harvard.edu_ (mailto:daguilar at cfa.harvard.edu)  
 
Christine Pulliam
1-617-495-7463
_cpulliam at cfa.harvard.edu_ (mailto:cpulliam at cfa.harvard.edu)  
 
CfA Release 2008-19
For Immediate  Release
 
BOULDER-SIZED ASTEROID WILL BURN UP IN EARTH'S  ATMOSPHERE TONIGHT
 
A tiny asteroid discovered just hours ago at an Arizona  observatory will
enter Earth's atmosphere harmlessly at approximately 10:46  p.m. Eastern time
tonight (2:46 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time). There is no danger  to people or
property since the asteroid will not reach the ground. It is  between 3 and
15 feet (1-5 m) in diameter and will burn up in the upper  atmosphere, well
above aircraft heights. A brilliant fireball will be visible  as a result.
 
"We want to stress that this object is not a threat,"  said Dr. Timothy
Spahr, director of the International Astronomical Union's  Minor Planet
Center.
 
"We're excited since this is the first time we have  issued a prediction that
an object will enter Earth's atmosphere," Spahr  added. Odds are between 99.8
and 100 percent that the object will encounter  Earth, according to
calculations provided by Andrea Milani of the University  of Pisa.
 
When a meteoroid (small asteroid) enters the atmosphere,  it compresses the
air in front of it. That compression heats the air, which  in turn heats the
object, causing it to glow and vaporize. Once it starts to  glow, the object
is called a meteor.
 
"A typical meteor comes from an object the size of a  grain of sand,"
explained Gareth Williams of the Minor Planet Center. "This  meteor will be a
real humdinger in comparison!"
 
The meteor is expected to be visible from eastern Africa  as an extremely
bright fireball traveling rapidly across the sky from  northeast to
southwest. The object is expected to enter the atmosphere over  northern
Sudan at a shallow angle.
 
"We're eager for observations from astronomers near the  asteroid's approach
path. We really hope that someone will manage to  photograph it," said
Williams.
 
The Minor Planet Center, which is located at the  Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics, serves as the worldwide  clearinghouse for asteroid and
comet observations. It collects, checks and  disseminates observations and
calculates orbits.
 
Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., the  Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics (CfA) is a joint collaboration  between the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College  Observatory. CfA
scientists, organized into six research divisions, study the  origin,
evolution and ultimate fate of the  universe.




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