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Originally posted by StareDad
Note: Make sure you have Java enabled on your browser to see the applet. This applet is provided as a 3D orbit visualization tool. The applet was implemented using 2-body methods, and hence should not be used for determining accurate long-term trajectories (over several years or decades) or planetary encounter circumstances. For accurate long-term ephemerides, please instead use our Horizons system.
Just so that everyone is aware of it from the start.
Originally posted by Trillium
Two New NEO 2012 VE26 & 2012 VQ6
Now my question how come they were able to find these two but not these
From
lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.ca...
Originally posted by wildespace
Originally posted by Trillium
Two New NEO 2012 VE26 & 2012 VQ6
Now my question how come they were able to find these two but not these
From
lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.ca...
Those two NEOs are asteroids, large enough to be spotted in a telescope. The other link describes meteors, small pebble-sized or even sand-grain-sized rocks that only become visible when they burn up in the atmosphere.
JPL gets its data from the Minor Planet Center (MPC), and they in turn get the data from thousands of astronomers (amateur as well as professional) all around the world. When a new object is found, the data is passed around the astronomical community so that it could be verified. You can't keep these celestial bodies secret.
For example, the MPC pages on these two NEOs give a list of the observatories that discovered or confirmed them:
www.minorplanetcenter.net...
www.minorplanetcenter.net...
Those are pretty small (approx 7 meters and 13 meters in diameter respectively) and could only be spotted because they came so close to Earth. Even at this close distance, they are fainter than Pluto. This just shows that it's not that easy to spot these "visitors".edit on 9-11-2012 by wildespace because: (no reason given)