WTF is going to Hit the Earth within a month(?)

[CalMeacham]

That’s both a statement and a question.

A piece of space junk that has been given the apt name of ‘WTF’ is heading straight for Earth - and will crash into us in less than a month.

No one seems to know exactly what the flying object actually is - hence the name - but they are in no doubt we are in its path.

All anyone is sure off is that it is about two metres wide and could be hollow inside - meaning it might be man-made.

But how would a man-made object be hurtling in space and on a collision course with the planet where it originated?

Unidentified Space Junk Labelled ‘WTF’ Is About To Crash Into Earth

This site ( Kansas Sports Betting To Launch In September - yournewswire ) claims the real designation is WT1190F. Apparently only its friends call it WTF.
Here’s the Nature article about it:

http://www.nature.com/news/incoming-space-junk-a-scientific-opportunity-1.18642

[WildBlueYonder]

Hope they have the cameras ready to film because I won’t be seeing it on this side of the world!

[LSLGuy]

Two meters wide & hollow: Must be the capsule containing the infant Superman!

[burpo_the_wonder_mutt]

It is NOMAD! It is perfect.

[Grey]

Hope Jeb’s ready for re-entry.

[WildBlueYonder]

Certainly won’t be the end of the world… Earth is going to implode due to sink holes…

[LSLGuy]

Seriously …

The Nature article includes this bit:

@Nature

The object is only 1 to 2 metres in size, and its trajectory shows it is low-density, perhaps hollow. That suggests an artificial object, “a lost piece of space history that’s come back to haunt us”, says Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

What properties of an orbit in a vacuum would be affected by the density of the object? Its mass is negligible compared to Earth & Moon no matter its configuration and material. AFAIK, whether hollow or solid, feathers or lead, it’ll orbit the exact same path.

So where is this factoid coming from?

[Andy_L]

@LSLGuy

Seriously …

The Nature article includes this bit:What properties of an orbit in a vacuum would be affected by the density of the object? Its mass is negligible compared to Earth & Moon no matter its configuration and material. AFAIK, whether hollow or solid, feathers or lead, it’ll orbit the exact same path.

So where is this factoid coming from?

http://spaceguardcentre.com/esa-neocc-watching-rare-reentry-wt1190f-comes-back/

“First, the object is likely man made. The motion of this body over about two years can be modelled in detail only if the effects of solar radiation pressure are taken into account.** The intensity of this solar push is proportional to the object’s area-to-mass ratio, which can therefore be estimated, providing an indirect clue to its density. **It turns out that this body has a mean density that is about 10% that of water. This is too low to be a natural space rock, but it is compatible with being a hollow shell, such as the spent upper stage of a rocket.”

[Ike_Witt]

V’ger?

[LSLGuy]

@Andy_L

http://spaceguardcentre.com/esa-neocc-watching-rare-reentry-wt1190f-comes-back/

“First, the object is likely man made. The motion of this body over about two years can be modelled in detail only if the effects of solar radiation pressure are taken into account.** The intensity of this solar push is proportional to the object’s area-to-mass ratio, which can therefore be estimated, providing an indirect clue to its density. **It turns out that this body has a mean density that is about 10% that of water. This is too low to be a natural space rock, but it is compatible with being a hollow shell, such as the spent upper stage of a rocket.”

Sweet. Thanks.

[DinoR]

@LSLGuy

Sweet. Thanks.

I’ll go one further, Super Sweet Andy L. That may be a sign I need to get out more,

[Diceman]

I’ve been interested in “space junk” for a while now. It would be cool if they could somehow figure out what this object is and where it came from before it burns up in the atmosphere.

[bup]

@Diceman

I’ve been interested in “space junk” for a while now. It would be cool if they could somehow figure out what this object is and where it came from before it burns up in the atmosphere.

It may well survive. If it’s hollow, it will slow down in the atmosphere. I bet it’s a stage of an Apollo rocket. Just a cylinder that’s been floating around.

[The_Vorlon]

@bup

It may well survive. If it’s hollow, it will slow down in the atmosphere. I bet it’s a stage of an Apollo rocket. Just a cylinder that’s been floating around.

Too small. Remember the only stage to leave Earth orbit was the size of a house.

[Andy_L]

@LSLGuy

Sweet. Thanks.

No problem. I figured it was solar radiation or wind effects they were thinking of, and googled around until I found the info.

[cmyk]

Space Geodes!!!

[Gordon_Urquhart]

Former Doper The Bad Astronomer has written a column about it.

[CalMeacham]

Update:

What happens when a 5,000-pound piece of space junk collides with Earth is...

Right now, a piece of space junk named WT1190F is on a suicidal collision path toward Earth.

It is scheduled to re-enter our atmosphere next Friday, Nov. 13 at 2:20 pm ET over the Indian Ocean, about 62 miles off the coast of Sri Lanka.

Upon re-entry, WT1190F will put on quite a show as it races through the skies, generating tremendous heat from friction against air molecules in the atmosphere.

At a critical point, the heat grows so hot that it generates a bright light, and what you get is a marvelous fire works show.

This happened back in 2008, when the European Space Agency sentenced one of its Automated Transfer Vehicles, called Jules Verne, to death by re-entry.

[Ale]

Not directly related, but a couple days ago a meteor lighted up the night around here, a nice, big green one.
This was a few weeks after another one burned up over the city during the daytime, and good thing that it did so because it was estimated to weight over 60 tons.

[Chronos]

This site ( Homepage - yournewswire…-than-a-month/ ) claims the real designation is WT1190F. Apparently only its friends call it WTF.

Whoa, so it’s what the over-a-thousand-fucks?