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RandySF

(58,706 posts) Sat Oct 31, 2015, 05:00 PM Oct 2015

Skull-shaped asteroid will fly past Earth on Halloween

As if Halloween needed to be any scarier, a giant skull is flying through space toward Earth.

"The (Infrared Telescope Facility) data may indicate that the object might be a dead comet, but in the Arecibo images it appears to have donned a skull costume for its Halloween flyby," said Kelly Fast, IRTF program scientist at NASA Headquarters.

Earth is in no real danger, though; NASA projects the object - officially "asteroid TB145" - will pass by Earth from about 302,000 miles away at about noon CST on Halloween.

Still, for Halloween drama it's hard to beat a giant space skull.

The object was first spotted Oct. 10 by the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS-1 (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) on Haleakala, Maui. It's next Earth flyby will come in September 2018, although at a much farther distance: about 24 million miles.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/skull-shaped-asteroid-will-fly-past-earth-on-halloween/ar-BBmEhE3?li=BBgzzfc&ocid=mailsignout

11 replies

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Highlight:

Skull-shaped asteroid will fly past Earth on Halloween (Original Post) RandySF Oct 2015 OP

BOO!!! greytdemocrat Oct 2015 #1

The article calls it a "dead comet". What's a dead comet? lob1 Oct 2015 #2

A comet head no longer giving off a tail, probably had all the volatiles burned off already Fumesucker Oct 2015 #5

Probably one that has had most of the ice boiled off. krispos42 Oct 2015 #7

One that had an unfortunate encounter with the Michael Meyers comet pinboy3niner Oct 2015 #8

Perfect! A giant flying skull! peacebird Oct 2015 #3

IT HUNGERS Warren DeMontague Oct 2015 #4

The cosmos has an exellent sense of humor. nt hifiguy Oct 2015 #6

I kinda love it...it's cool... CTyankee Oct 2015 #9

Where would they get such an idea? Octafish Oct 2015 #10

It looks worried Martin Eden Oct 2015 #11

greytdemocrat

(3,299 posts)

1. BOO!!!

Reply to RandySF (Original post)

Sat Oct 31, 2015, 05:12 PM

Oct 2015

lob1

(3,820 posts)

2. The article calls it a "dead comet". What's a dead comet?

Reply to RandySF (Original post)

Sat Oct 31, 2015, 05:17 PM

Oct 2015

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)

5. A comet head no longer giving off a tail, probably had all the volatiles burned off already

Reply to lob1 (Reply #2)

Sat Oct 31, 2015, 05:26 PM

Oct 2015

krispos42

(49,445 posts)

7. Probably one that has had most of the ice boiled off.

Reply to lob1 (Reply #2)

Sat Oct 31, 2015, 05:30 PM

Oct 2015

Comets are balls of frozen gasses... Not just water ice but frozen carbon dioxide, frozen methane, frozen nitrogen, frozen oxygen, etc.

The stuff with the lowest freezing point vaporizes the most as the comet is warmed by the sun. Eventually, over hundreds or thousands of flybys, there's not much left to boil away.

That's my interpretation, at least.