Saturday, September 15, 2012

September 15 2012 A Filament Eruption & Asteroid Flyby [HD]

   I know I know - I should not be doing videos and data calculations right now (doctor's orders, bed rest and getting ready for my upcoming surgery) but it is food for my hunger, besides it is something interesting, with a little flyby heebijeebies and asteroid slamming into Jupiter and it's all happening in our own back yard. How could I possibly not bring this to you. Smiles.


A filament eruption occurred Sept. 13, around 0600 UT, between AR 11566 and 11567. It was accompanied by a relatively slow CME (v -- 400 km/s) as estimated by STEREO COR2 observations. At the time this message is prepared, no LASCO observations are yet available. From the COR data only, it looks like the bulk of the CME is directed northward. We, therefore, do not expect geomagnetic effects from this event, and the overall geomagnetic activity is likely to be quiet for the next 48 hours.

Today, an asteroid as wide as three football fields is flying past Earth. At closest approach, 2012 QG42 will be 2.8 million km (7.4 lunar distances) away, so there is no danger of a collision. Nevertheless, it is close enough for backyard astronomers to track using large amateur telescopes; the space rock is glowing like a 14th magnitude star.
Please note: The asteroid is not one football field in size and growing as mentioned by some on YouTube. It is the size of 3 football fields and since it is an inanimate object it is physically impossible to keep on growing.

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