Comet Elenin is coming!

okay so theres an icy ball, roughly 4-6 kms wide and its gonna pass somewhat close to the earth. okay that part i understood
what i didnt understand was how it could cause earthquakes/storms/nasal mucus. if the gravity of this small piece of space rock could affect our planet from such a great distance, then how come the moon or mars/venus dont cause daily earthquakes and storms..... i just dont get it.
and the numerology/anagram crowd provide interesting reading

maybe the trail which the earth will pass through could conk out communication and our satellites.
we could have a spectacular meteor shower too
and even if it is the end of the world, so be it.... we all gotta die one day


oh and wont the earths gravity mess wid the comet, like break it up or something?
im not new to all this but im no pro either... could somebody shed light on my doubts?

This is something I've been discussing with friends and family for awhile now. I truly believe there is nothing to worry about here. It will just be another comet passing through the solar system. after it leaves, I'm sure some other doom/gloom event will be fabricated so we have something to read about

reply to post by sesto6element


I guess I need to respond then since you asked nicely.

what i didnt understand was how it could cause earthquakes/storms/nasal mucus.

The thing is you are right that it can't cause earthquakes and storms. Nasal mucous? Well I doubt it but you never know

if the gravity of this small piece of space rock could affect our planet from such a great distance, then how come the moon or mars/venus dont cause daily earthquakes and storms..... i just dont get it.

Have you discovered the secret of earthquakes? Maybe they are caused by the Moon, or Mars/Venus? Actually there are certain schools of thought that believe the changing distance of the moon on a regular basis does indeed cause earthquakes. Unfortunately for this 'School' the last Super-Moon declined to cause the expected 9.0 in Cascadia. I think the evidence is so far rather more anecdotal than proven. Elenin cannot have ANY effect upon Earth gravitationally.

and the numerology/anagram crowd provide interesting reading

Not my bag really but interesting how you can twist things to fit if you want to.

maybe the trail which the earth will pass through could conk out communication and our satellites.
we could have a spectacular meteor shower too

We could have a meteor shower, however I doubt it will 'conk out' any communications satellites. A massive solar flare is more likely to do that.

and even if it is the end of the world, so be it.... we all gotta die one day

True

oh and wont the earths gravity mess wid the comet, like break it up or something?

Probably not. Whilst earth's gravity will contribute to the trajectory it is unlikely to break up the comet.

E.L.E.N.I.N:

Extinction
Level
Event
Nibiru
Is
Near

reply to post by masterp


E.L.E.N.I.N:

Elvis
Likes
Everything
Nice
In
Nashville

Originally posted by masterp
E.L.E.N.I.N:

Extinction
Level
Event
Nibiru
Is
Near

although I'm sure this won't keep true believers from believing in an elenin conspiracy:

Leonid (Y)elenin (born 1981) has his own wiki page:

Leonid Yelenin's wiki entry (google translated)

and he's mentioned on this page from 2008:

AstroAlerts.su from 2008

sometimes it's easier to go back to the source...

This is my first reply since I just registered. And I do not mean to go off topic but i have a question that has been bugging me. And I guess my search skills are not up to par with you guys. Its not terribly off topic though so I hope no one gets mad at me. I guess maybe its a few questions regarding the same thing. And keep in mind that though I am not educated highly in space sciences I am not a total idiot either.

Ok so we have comets like Elenin with long orbits which bring them back into our solar systems for visits. And I do understand the "sling shot" effect that happens when a comet heads toward the Sun. Then gets shot back out into the depths of space after coming round the Sun etc. But what exactly brings any said comet back to us years and years later? I mean I am probably missing the point or something but to me it could be a couple things which do not add up to me in my thinking.

A: Comet heads out of the solar system and eventually slows down and is eventually dragged back by the gravity of our Sun.

(That does not add up to me that a comet can travel for 3600 years (even 150 years boggles me) and still be influenced by our Suns gravity.)

or,

B: Comet leaves and eventually encounters something with as large of mass as our Sun and gets a sling shot back towards the general direction of our system and then gets close enough to become under the influence of our Sun.

(This does not jive with me either as both massive objects would have to be at the same place in their respective orbits to be there when said comet returns toward their location.)

Or am i missing something. I would love to be educated via links or whatever in this matter as long as its polite, again with the understanding of my limited knowledge on these subjects.

Thanks

reply to post by protoaz


The way i had it explained too me was,, if u fill a bucket of water,,and swing it in a circular motion,,centrifical Force,
acts on the watwr,, and it does not fall out of orbit/pail.
There are pictures posted on ATS of the top 2011, pics in Astronomy,,
It really explains well ,,what i mean.
At least that was how it was explained too me when i was a kid,,,years ago.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by protoaz


I'm not sure if the same holds true for long-period comets, but I know Sedna's elliptical orbit has been explained by events that happened early in the history of the solar system. It was either caused by a star that was born in the same star cluster as our own Sun, or a star that passed by the solar system. While there are astronomers that have tried to explain the existence of long-period comets using a solar companion or large trans-Neptunian object they are few and far between.

(That does not add up to me that a comet can travel for 3600 years (even 150 years boggles me) and still be influenced by our Suns gravity.)

Pluto's orbital period is 248 years and there are larger bodies further out than Pluto locked in the sun's gravitational pull. As for comets they have even greater elliptical orbits around the sun, and the further out from the sun the slower things travel. The planet Mercury travels around the sun at around 107,000 mph, the earth about 66,600 mph, Neptune about 12,000 mph.

Another thing to understand about gravity, is it never disappears, but does sharply decrease with distance. Stars are very far apart. The sun is believed to influence small bodies a light year away, the Oort cloud, and in the lack of a greater gravitational pull bodies will be influenced by the sun if nothing closer with some measurable mass has a greater influence.

The earth actually gets a bit of a tidal tug from Jupiter each year the two planets are the closest, the tug however amounts to just 1% of the tidal tug our moon has on earth. I had the figures but out of memory, all of the planets in our solar system combined would have 1.7% the tidal tug of our moon, should they ever all be aligned as such. With that in mind one can clearly see that a tiny comet would have near zero gravitational effect on earth, being a millionth the mass of the moon on average, no matter how close they come.

Originally posted by BobAthome
reply to post by protoaz

 

The way i had it explained too me was,, if u fill a bucket of water,,and swing it in a circular motion,,centrifical Force,
acts on the watwr,, and it does not fall out of orbit/pail.
There are pictures posted on ATS of the top 2011, pics in Astronomy,,
It really explains well ,,what i mean.
At least that was how it was explained too me when i was a kid,,,years ago.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

edit on 14-8-2011 by BobAthome because: (no reason given)

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2011 shortlist – in pictures

Judging is under way for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2011. These are some of the shortlisted entries. Winners will be announced on 8 September and will go on display the following day at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The exhibition is free and will run until February 2012







www.guardian.co.uk...#/?picture=377796353&index=10

pic

Equinox by Juan Carlos Casado. This time-lapse image shows the rotation of the Earth from the vantage point of Ecuador on the day of the Equinox in 2010. As the sun passed overhead then sank into the west it burned a bright path across the middle of the sky in this long-exposure image. Then, as the sky darkened, the stars became visible, the Earth’s spin making them trace their own circular paths about the north and south celestial poles Photograph: Juan Carlos Casado/The Royal Observator

reply to post by Illustronic


I see your point but it just seems that 3600 years is quite the large distance to accumulate and i guess i just cant grasp that concept as i feel infinitesimally small in comparison Thanks. And thanks to all the rest who replied to me as well, much appreciated.

The orbits of Neptune and Pluto are far from the limits of the sun's gravitational pull, a fraction. 90377 Sedna discovered in 2003 at a distance of about 88 AU is calculated to have an orbital period of 10,400 years, with its aphelion estimated at 960 AU, (32 times the distance of Neptune.

To help you visualize this, here is a progressive illustration.


A trans-Neptunian object discovered while inside the orbit of Neptune in 2008, 2006sq372 can have an orbital period over 32,000 years.

Neptune average distance is 4.564 billion kilometers (2.835 billion miles), 30.5 AU or 4.22 light hours or 0.000482 light years. The Kuiper Belt extends from about 30 AU to 55 AU, and the Oort cloud is believed to have a mean radius of a light year.

reply to post by sesto6element


well one problem is everyone saying it is an icy ball. this is false . nasa has admitted that not all comets are just ice balls but actually balls of rock or iron. or a myriad of other choices. the possibilities are endless to what the compositions could be.

reply to post by letscit

well one problem is everyone saying it is an icy ball. this is false . nasa has admitted that not all comets are just ice balls but actually balls of rock or iron. or a myriad of other choices. the possibilities are endless to what the compositions could be.

Granted, the ratio of silicates to volatiles varies from comet to comet. Even if it were mostly iron, however, its mass remains negligible.

really, I'd just be happy to see this guy get some credit and respect. imagine discovering a new mountain peak, or hidden lake, that nobody has ever seen nor heard of.. then you get the honors to name it from here on out. it is literally yours, at least by name.

what leonid has done was probably a very exciting thing for him, actually he did it twice (kinda), but still.. stop crapping on his parade with these fairy tales already.

If anyone wants to start this in a new thread be my guest. I can't until I've reached a minimum of 20 posts. This is a great video going through Elenin (on most levels) In a world of dis/misinformation on the topic I find this video at least clear on the subject

SpaceWeather reports that Elenin appears to be disintegrating.

So much for doomsday

Or maybe it is all the little spaceships coming out?

Note: I'm being ironic...or am I?