Elenin, the new scaremongering is approaching

[Andre]

The name of the comet Elenin C/2010 X1 does not show up in PF. I don't know if that is caused by active deletions of the mentors or that the scaremongering has not yet reached PF. But just google Elenin to find a lot of end-of-the-world speculations.

Better to take note of some facts before the doomsayers are swarming the place.

 

[Evo]

The name of the comet Elenin C/2010 X1 does not show up in PF. I don't know if that is caused by active deletions of the mentors or that the scaremongering has not yet reached PF. But just google Elenin to find a lot of end-of-the-world speculations.

Better to take note of some facts before the doomsayers are swarming the place.

I had read about the comet, but not the scaremongering. Thanks for the pre-emptive post.

 

[turbo]

Thanks for the heads-up Andre-I haven't been keeping up with comets much. There is a lot of woo-woo out there.

 

[turbo]

I got a little bored and started exploring the Woo sites. One person believes that NASA is lying about the comet and is using it to deflect the "real" information, which is that a brown dwarf with satellites is going to plow through the Solar system, disrupting the Earth's orbit in the process.

 

[Lazernugget]

Yep. I heard about this. "Brown Dwarf" coming to shake up and flip us and shoot radioactive debris. It's all PLAUSIBLE, but I think the theory of us being beat up by a rouge star is stupid. me, myself, don't believe it'll harm us. But, hey, let the conspiracy theorist who think that we'll all die believe what they want. They've been disappointed so many times before anyway.

 

[FlexGunship]

Yep. I heard about this. "Brown Dwarf" coming to shake up and flip us and shoot radioactive debris. It's all PLAUSIBLE, but I think the theory of us being beat up by a rouge star is stupid. me, myself, don't believe it'll harm us. But, hey, let the conspiracy theorist who think that we'll all die believe what they want. They've been disappointed so many times before anyway.

There are two definitions of the word "plausible."

1. Seemingly or apparently valid, likely, or acceptable; credible
2. Giving a deceptive impression of truth or reliability

Perhaps you could argue it's the second definition, but certainly not the first. And, given the fact that there are no brown dwarves in the the vicinity of the solar system, even the second usage of the word is inappropriate.

The word you're looking for is "silly." As in: "It's all SILLY."

EDIT: At a billionth of the tidal forces of the moon, I look forward to hearing earthquake and tsunami claims.

 

[ViewsofMars]

The name of the comet Elenin C/2010 X1 does not show up in PF. I don't know if that is caused by active deletions of the mentors or that the scaremongering has not yet reached PF. But just google Elenin to find a lot of end-of-the-world speculations.

Better to take note of some facts before the doomsayers are swarming the place.

The last link(url) from "universetoday.com" states, "Why Can’t I Find Information of Elenin at the NASA Website? Because NASA is not the arbiter of all things astronomical. You won’t find information on C/2009 P1, C/2011 C1 or any of the faint comets discovered during 2010 and 2011. NASA does have information of comets that its spacecraft have visited, or are interesting in some other way, but it’s not an exhaustive comet site like Cometography or Aerith."

Well, the universetoday.com was wrong. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory stated on May 4, 2011:

You may have heard the news: Comet Elenin is coming to the inner-solar system this fall. Comet Elenin (also known by its astronomical name C/2010 X1), was first detected on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin, an observer in Lyubertsy, Russia, who made the discovery "remotely" using the ISON-NM observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico. At the time of the discovery, the comet was about 647 million kilometers (401 million miles) from Earth. Over the past four-and-a-half months, the comet has – as comets do – closed the distance to Earth's vicinity as it makes its way closer to perihelion (its closest point to the sun). As of May 4, Elenin's distance is about 274 million kilometers (170 million miles).

"That is what happens with these long-period comets that come in from way outside our planetary system," said Don Yeomans of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "They make these long, majestic, speedy arcs through our solar system, and sometimes they put on a great show. But not Elenin. Right now that comet looks kind of wimpy."

How does a NASA scientist define cometary wimpiness?

"We're talking about how a comet looks as it safely flies past us," said Yeomans. "Some cometary visitors arriving from beyond the planetary region – like Hale-Bopp in 1997 -- have really lit up the night sky where you can see them easily with the naked eye as they safely transit the inner-solar system. But Elenin is trending toward the other end of the spectrum. You'll probably need a good pair of binoculars, clear skies, and a dark, secluded location to see it even on its brightest night."

Comet Elenin should be at its brightest shortly before the time of its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 16 of this year. At its closest point, it will be 35 million kilometers (22 million miles) from us. Can this icy interloper influence us from where it is, or where it will be in the future? What about this celestial object inspiring some shifting of the tides or even tectonic plates here on Earth? There have been some incorrect Internet speculations that external forces could cause comet Elenin to come closer.

"Comet Elenin will not encounter any dark bodies that could perturb its orbit, nor will it influence us in any way here on Earth," said Yeomans. "It will get no closer to Earth than 35 million kilometers [about 22 million miles]. "

"Comet Elenin will not only be far away, it is also on the small side for comets," said Yeomans. "And comets are not the most densely-packed objects out there. They usually have the density of something akin to loosely packed icy dirt.

"So you've got a modest-sized icy dirtball that is getting no closer than 35 million kilometers," said Yeomans. "It will have an immeasurably miniscule influence on our planet. By comparison, my subcompact automobile exerts a greater influence on the ocean's tides than comet Elenin ever will."

Yeomans did have one final thought on comet Elenin.

"This comet may not put on a great show. Just as certainly, it will not cause any disruptions here on Earth. But there is a cause to marvel," said Yeomans. "This intrepid little traveler will offer astronomers a chance to study a relatively young comet that came here from well beyond our solar system's planetary region. After a short while, it will be headed back out again, and we will not see or hear from Elenin for thousands of years. That's pretty cool."

NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing relatively close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them, and predicts their paths to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.

JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-135

I hope Andy Resnick gets an image of that comet! Maybe I will too.

 

[russ_watters]

The name of the comet Elenin C/2010 X1 does not show up in PF. I don't know if that is caused by active deletions of the mentors or that the scaremongering has not yet reached PF.

We did get a couple of posts in one thread and they were deleted.

 

[Dotini]

With respect to Comet Elenin, you can use the interactive controls of this JPL applet to see the position of the comet within the solar system along its timeline.
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2010x1&orb=1

Here is the discoverer's website, with latest updates on his comet. The overall diameter of the coma is now about 200,000km, making this comet the second biggest object in the solar system at present, although the nucleus is only 2 or 3 km in diameter.
http://spaceobs.org/en/tag/comet-elenin/

Latest pics and video from STEREO B and Gustavo Muler observatory.


Respectfully submitted,
Steve

 

[ViewsofMars]

Thanks Steve for the contribution here on this topic. I appreciate your interest.

NASA’s STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory), which is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program (STP), has this to say:

As Comet Elenin passed to within just 7 million kilometers of the STEREO (Behind) spacecraft , NASA rolled the spacecraft to take a look at it (Aug. 1, 2011) with its wide angle HI-2 instrument. Though the observation lasted only a little over an hour, the fuzzy looking comet can be seen moving across a small portion of the sky. STEREO will be taking these one-hour observations every day through August 12. From August 15 onward, the comet enters the HI-1 telescope's nominal field of view, at which time we should enjoy continuous viewing of the comet. Over time, we expect the comet to be visible in the SOHO C3 coronagraph on September 23 for six days and possibly STEREO's COR2 coronagraph as well. The closest the comet will come to Earth is 0.23 AU (Astronomical Units), or approximately 34-million kilometers, so it poses no threat to us. We will attempt to keep this page updated with the latest observations.
Please read on . . .
http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/item.php?id=selects&iid=154

 

[Dotini]

Current length of the ion tail is 3,000,000 km, quite a bit short of the record of Hale-Bopp at 50,000,000 km. Elenin will pass within 35,000,000 km of Earth on October 16 of this year. Earth has passed through comet tails in the past, and nothing terribly notable has been reported to my knowledge.
http://spaceobs.org/en/tag/comet-elenin/

Respectfully submitted,
Steve

 

[Hepth]

Not sure if its been covered, but is this one that can be seen with the naked eye when its at its closest?

 

[Dotini]

Not sure if its been covered, but is this one that can be seen with the naked eye when its at its closest?

That's actually a good question! This comet is fairly dim right now, but long period comets, which Elenin is, will often flare up and put on a show when entering or leaving the inner solar system. So we have our hopes up.

But undoubtedly someone with good eyes in a good location will see it, even if it doesn't flare up.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve

 

[FlexGunship]

Not sure if its been covered, but is this one that can be seen with the naked eye when its at its closest?

Yes, when it bursts into flames as it contact the upper atmosphere you should be able to see it pretty well from outside of your bomb shelter. When it hits your bomb shelter you should be able to see it pretty well from inside your bomb shelter.

 

[Dotini]

SO MUCH FOR DOOMSDAY: Comet Elenin (C/2010 X1), widely known for inaccurate reports of its threat to Earth, appears to be breaking apart. Observations by amateur astronomer Michael Mattiazzo of Castlemaine, Australia show a rapid dimming and elongation of the comet's nucleus akin to that of Comet LINEAR (C/1999 S4), which also disintegrated when it approached the sun in 2000. Comets are fragile objects, so this development while unexpected comes as no surprise.
http://spaceweather.com/ <-- archive August 30, 2011

Respectfully submitted,
Steve

 

[Drakkith]

Ahah! My comet repellant spray seems to be working!

 

[phinds]

Yes, when it bursts into flames as it contact the upper atmosphere you should be able to see it pretty well from outside of your bomb shelter. When it hits your bomb shelter you should be able to see it pretty well from inside your bomb shelter.

 

[DoggerDan]

SO MUCH FOR DOOMSDAY: Comet Elenin (C/2010 X1), widely known for inaccurate reports of its threat to Earth, appears to be breaking apart. Observations by amateur astronomer Michael Mattiazzo of Castlemaine, Australia show a rapid dimming and elongation of the comet's nucleus akin to that of Comet LINEAR (C/1999 S4), which also disintegrated when it approached the sun in 2000. Comets are fragile objects, so this development while unexpected comes as no surprise.
http://spaceweather.com/ <-- archive August 30, 2011

http://news.yahoo.com/debris-doomsday-comet-elenin-pass-earth-sunday-164605072.html".

What's the liklihood the ice and dust slewed off, but a rocky core remains intact?

 

[Dotini]

We may get lucky and learn more if we can spot and study any elusive remnants as they whiz past. The initial estimates of a kilometer or two for the diameter of Elenin's nucleus may have been rather optimistic. If so, what's left now may be no more impressive than a truckload of gravel. Long period comets are unpredictable cosmic jokers - not good material on which to place bets or predictions.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve

 

[FlexGunship]

Well, Elenin is dead; it's official... the comet came SOOOO close to destroying Earth, that the world's nations secretly joined together to destroy it without spilling a drop of information to the public!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45050612/ns/technology_and_science-space/

[QUOTE='http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45050612/ns/technology_and_science-space/"]The [...] comet Elenin, [...] a [...] harbinger of doom, has met its [...] demise,[...] NASA scientists say.

"Comets are [...] several miles in diameter, but [...] it doesn't take much to get a comet to disintegrate, and with comets, once they break up, there is no hope of reconciliation." [...] Elenin wasn't a comet at all, but actually a rogue planet called Nibiru.

[...] NASA's official responses to quell [...] comet Elenin, the space agency said. [...] This is an ex-comet.[/QUOTE]

See? By reading between the lines, you can find the truth!

 

[Chronos]

It's Nemesis, coming to destroy us on Dec 21, 2012! Now I understand why Nostrodamas predicted a run on golf umbrellas in the 21st century.