*Giant ASTEROID zipping through our Solar System**

Originally posted by Now_Then
I would suggest that you would be unable to tell the speed of that object as you have no idea of either the size or the distance.
[edit on 20/6/2010 by Now_Then]

I am guessing that it must be quite massive. I am basing this not on science, but it's relative size to the other bodies in the clip, and also in relation to the comet in the beginning of the clip.

Also, if you watch the first bit of the clip, and look up and to the left of the comet, you can clearly see the object moving.

Regards

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

reply to post by Grifter.be


Thanks for doing that, Grifter... I have a small data cap and slow broadband connection, so I appreciate your time and effort.

Regards

reply to post by V1g0r0u5


Well spotted V1g0r0u5,

Your eyes must be good, i had to concentrate to see it, even after you showed where it was!

It does look huge doesn't it.

If it does indeed go behind the sun, then that means it is super huge. On a par with Jupiter or Saturn, i'd guess.

Hopefully, it's an evacuation ship to rescue us ALL, hence why there are planet sized ships in the Sol system at the moment.

It would be pretty selfish to allow our species to go extinct from an impact or solar flare, when there are a large quantity of planet sized ships orbiting our sun.

I'm rambling aren't i..

Good find...let's hope it's not a dumb rock on a collision course.

Originally posted by V1g0r0u5
I am guessing that it must be quite massive. I am basing this not on science, but it's relative size to the other bodies in the clip, and also in relation to the comet in the beginning of the clip.

There are 3 variables in that clip that you can easily quantify, they would be 1) The sun (lol) 2) the relative position of the SOHO satellite and 3) the comet.

Your object in question, well just from the information available we really can't tell much at all - for instance we know the comet crashed into the sun... We don't know if your object is closer or further away than the sun (although I'm guessing very much closer). That object could be a 30 meter chunk a million miles away from the camera or it could be a planet sized alien ship hundreds of millions of miles away moving at a phenomenal speed!...

You just can't tell much from a moving dot in a you tube - sorry bud.

Originally posted by spikey
If it does indeed go behind the sun, then that means it is super huge. On a par with Jupiter or Saturn, i'd guess.

If it did go behind the sun you would see some curve in it's path right? It's incredibly far away interacting with the suns gravity well... Unless by sheer chance our observation of that object happened to exactly align with it's orbital plain of course, then we would see a straight line path that slowed down in the middle and sped up at either end...

No you see a straight path at constant velocity indicating a much smaller object much closer to the camera - just a chunk of space pebble going on it's way, just loosely constrained by the suns gravitational field and carrying the momentum it was imparted who knows when until the day it meets another lonely space pebble - It's quite nice to think about that little traveller really.

[edit on 20/6/2010 by Now_Then]

reply to post by Now_Then


I hear you...
But one would think a small rock a million miles away would be all but invisible to the best telescopes. I am not hung up on any particular explanation, however, I don't think it is minor heavenly body. Don't have any proof of this, though.

Phage, any ideas?

Regards

reply to post by spikey


Thanks for the reply, spikey.
Unfortunately, I messed with the contrast a bit trying to make it stand out. That, coupled with compressing the vid twice, me once and youtube once, has made the object a bit indistinct.

If you are interested in the original clip, go Here, select the Lasco 3 camera and load these dates: 2010-01-02 (start) and 2010-01-08 (end).

Regards

Originally posted by Now_Then
No you see a straight path at constant velocity indicating a much smaller object much closer to the camera - just a chunk of space pebble going on it's way, just loosely constrained by the suns gravitational field and carrying the momentum it was imparted who knows when until the day it meets another lonely space pebble - It's quite nice to think about that little traveller really.

[edit on 20/6/2010 by Now_Then]

So closer to camera means closer to earth. I'm not sure I'm able to see any gravitational effects on it from the sun, though. What if it is not in orbit around the Sun, but just passing through.

Hope the pebble it meets is not the one we live on!

While asteroids can appear in SOHO images, this is the planet Mercury. Passing between the Sun and the Earth.

transits

It won't hit us.

[edit on 6/20/2010 by Phage]

reply to post by Phage


Thanks for the reply, Phage. Do you mean the very bright object approaching the Sun is Mercury?

I am referring to something moving from left to right just more than halfway up the frame. It dims quite quickly, but stays in the area below the moving title.

Regards

reply to post by V1g0r0u5

The object moving from left to right, above the Sun, faster than the starfield is Mercury. I wouldn't call it "very bright". Venus is below the Sun moving right to left and is very bright.


It gets dimmer the more in line it is with the Sun because from our point of view, less of its disk is illuminated. When it is at either side of the Sun half of it is illuminated so it appears brighter. When it is in line with the Sun it appears very dim. Mercury goes through phases just like Venus and the Moon. When it is on the far side of the Sun it will appear "very bright".

This applet demonstrates.
www.venus-transit.de...


[edit on 6/20/2010 by Phage]

reply to post by Phage


Well, thank you Phage. Seems like you are on the money. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Regards

Phage...you done killed the thread...you bastard. Seriously, it's a good lesson for us--there are planets in SOHO footage.