Unknown Objects Spotted in Space Near Earth

Did you know that on January 13, 2010, a small unknown object thought to be space junk, or an asteroid, streaked past the Earth from only 130,000 kilometers (left)? It was discovered only two days before its close encounter and was called 2010 AL30 (top). Although it didn't hit, astronomers said it wouldn't have caused any damage at all since it is only 10 meters wide.

2010 AL30 was as bright as a tenth magnitude star and was like how Pluto would have appeared from the Earth. Strangely, it's orbit period is exactly the same as the Earth's at one year. This led to speculation that it may be space junk left over from a spacecraft launched in the past, like from an Apollo lunar mission.

Senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute, says 2010 AL30 is more likely a natural object because it does not follow any useful spacecraft launch trajectory. The NASA Near-Earth Object (NEO) Program Office suggested that its steep, eccentric orbit made it more likely it was just a near-Earth object (asteroid). Michel Khan, analyst at the European Space Agency (ESA), on the other hand, said it may have been the upper stage of the Russian Soyuz rocket used to launch the Venus Express Spacecraft in 2005.

Earth is no stranger to unknown objects whizzing by. Did you know that in 2002, a strange, elongated, tumbling object was spotted orbiting the Earth (left)? Called J002E3, it's 60 feet long and rotates every minute. At only magnitude 16, it was very dim but was still discovered by Bill Yeung, an amateur astronomer. Scans of the sky never showed it before and it's assumed that it only entered the orbit around the Earth prior to it's discovery.

J002E3's orbit was described then as chaotic by Paul Chodas of NEO. It goes around Earth once every 48 days or so, coming as close to our planet as the Moon and moving as far away as twice that distance. CHodes retraced it's orbital history and determined that it could have originated from Earth in 1971, so he speculated it was the 60-ft S-IVB fuel tank of the Apollo 14 lunar rocket. The problem was all the parts of that mission were accounted for.

Then, it occurred to Chodas that J002E3 could be the tank of Apollo 12 Saturn 5 rocket (left) that was jettisoned Nov. 15, 1969 after it ran out of fuel. Ground controllers switched the tanks engine on and it was supposed to be sent to an orbit around the Sun. But a mistake happened and the fuel burned for too long, sending it instead in an orbit that closely matches that of J002E3. Is J002E3, the fuel tank of the Apollo 12? It's anyone's guess. But, spectral analysis of the J002E3 showed that it has titanium dioxide paint - exactly what was used on the Saturn V rocket 40 years ago as of this writing! Click on the images for more info on the unknown NEO objects here.

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Old science-fiction fans will remember his classic tv-spacecraft from Space: 1999. It's the ship the people of Moonbase Alpha use on missions on the Moon that's been blasted out of Earth orbit into the unknown reaches of space! Click here or on the image to purchase. It's limited to only 200 items and very, very rare and expensive!

Russia to Attempt Deflection of Near-Earth Object Threat Apophis

In 2004, an asteroid called Apophis was discovered. After analyzing it's path across the solar system, astronomers established that it has a 1 in 37 chance of impacting Earth in 2029. With more detailed studies, the chances were dropped even if the asteroid will come to 29,450 kilometers near Earth. In 2036, it will again buzz by with an estimated to 1 in 250,000 chance of hitting. It seems that Apophis has a slim chance of hitting our planet. But in spite of the latest figures, the Russian Federal Space Agency is planning an unmanned mission to the asteroid to deflect it and lessen it's chances of hitting Earth even more.

According to the space agency's chief Anatoly Perminov, NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese Space Agency, and other like agencies around the world are likely to be invited to participate in the project. Don Yeomans, head of the NASA Near-Earth Object Program, says that "While Apophis is almost certainly not a problem, I am encouraged that the Russian science community is willing to study the various deflection options that would be available in the event of a future Earth threatening encounter by an asteroid."

Perminov said the mission will not require the use of a nuclear explosion, like what is depicted in movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact. He only said that calculations show that it's possible to create a special purpose spacecraft within the time left, which would help avoid the collision. While Perminov did not give specifics as to how Apophis will be deflected, he said it will have to be worked out.

Apophis is the name of an ancient Egyptian demon. Apophis, or Apep (left) in Egyptian, is the embodiment of darkness, dissolution, and non-being. He is the nemesis of the Sun god Ra. He is depicted as a snake that swallows beings into non-existence. He is supposed to have existed before creation and will continue to exist performing acts of malevolence.