ASTEROID FLYBY: Newly-discovered asteroid 2011 MD will pass only 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) above Earth's surface on Monday June 27 at about 9:30 a.m. EDT. NASA analysts say there is no chance the space rock will strike Earth. Nevertheless, the encounter is so close that Earth's gravity will sharply alter the asteroid's trajectory:
At closest approach, 2011 MD will pass in broad daylight over the southern Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Antarctica. As the asteroid recedes from Earth, it will pass through the zone of geosynchronous satellites. The chances of a collision with a satellite or manmade space junk are extremely small, albeit not zero.
Judging from the brightness of the asteroid, it measures only 5 to 20 meters in diameter. According to JPL's Near Earth Object Program office, one would expect an object of this size to come this close to Earth about every 6 years on average. For a brief time, it will be bright enough to be seen even with a medium-sized backyard telescope. [observing tips] [3D orbit]
SUNSPOT VS. WILDFIRE: On June 21st, while working a raging wildfire in north Florida, medivac pilot Chris Lambert looked up at the sun and saw a dark spot through the smoke. "Was it a transit of Mercury?" He emailed the question to his friend, solar photographer Stephen W. Ramsden. "I knew exactly what he was looking at," says Ramsden, "because I had been imaging it all week at public astronomy events in Atlanta." It was sunspot AR1236:
"I explained to Chris that he was simply using the ancient Chinese method of watching the sun through thick smoke or at sunrise and sunset in order to record these giant islands of magnetism on the sun's surface," continues Ramsden. "I sent him back a closeup photo that I had taken earlier that morning of the same feature. Good luck to Chris and all the firefighters risking their lives around the country to fight these epic blazes."
More Images: from Jerry Dzuricky of Erie, PA; from Piet Berger of Eys, The Netherlands; from Charles Beanland at the Bay of Gibraltar, Europe.
Provided by Space Weather News
