(HD) Comet Elenin - Detailed Orbit Animation

[XshiiaforevaX]

freaky!!!!!

[mindbenderrx]

Pretty cool

[julianotd]

:(

[pudimbacana]

if it is an huge object, then we should worry about everythig it´s dragging.

incoming Metor shower!

at 0:53 we can see that earth crosses the path that elenin left behind.

If it´s followed by space rocks, we will hit them pretty hard!

[pudimbacana]

ELENIN means ELEven NINe

[uturniaphobic]

wondering what is the cycle-time of this comet? hoping its not around 600k because that might mean a connection with this recurring event and the recurring Yellowstone eruptions. just thinking about it..

[obaeyens]

@uturniaphobic

11,950 years or so according to my simulations.

[uturniaphobic]

@obaeyens I read on Wikipedia just today that it is a 600k orbit period but I was glancing at it pretty quickly. This orbit kind of worries me actually.

[obaeyens]

@uturniaphobic

No wikipedia also says 11,830 years lose to what I simulated.

There is nothing to worry about the orbit. Orbits are pretty accurate to predict and even when it is curved the trajectory is very precisely defined. It is also too fast and to far away from a major body to be gravitationally influenced a lot. I don't think that any comet could be captured by Earth gravitationally. The relative speed to Earth must be smaller than escape velocity of 11 km/s at 100 km high to catch.

[uturniaphobic]

@obaeyens I read a reply today saying this is a one-time hyperbolic fly-by. and Wikipedia says both but leaves 11k as the last. thanks!

[obaeyens]

@uturniaphobic

According to my simulations, it was a hyperbolic until around 1 September 2011 where it slows down probably by Venus into an orbit that would be only 208 years. But since it is moving towards Earth, Earth speeds it up to around 11,000 years. I think Jupiter also gives it a small push.

The thing is that because of the high eccentricity, a very small acceleration of maybe a few 10s of meters per second can make the difference of 11k or 208 years.

[uturniaphobic]

@obaeyens so possibly not guaranteed at all but possibly this comet may have previously been on a 600k orbit until the recent interference. does that sound plausible? The guy who discovered it actually calculated 600k at first.

[obaeyens]

@uturniaphobic

My simulations are that it came from 1.733 light-years (2*54800 AU) far and had an orbit of 12,813,000 years.

I simulated to to 400 AU away to make sure that that was the direction it was coming. This is not a starry night or a Celestia simulation, I really did take gravitational influences into account. 1.7 lj means that this orbit is not periodic because other stars will influence the orbit and make the period meaningless.

[uturniaphobic]

@obaeyens honestly, that is a relief to hear. thanks!

[uturniaphobic]

@obaeyens I found out today that Halley's Comet flew between Earth and the Sun in 1910 around May. Also many comets have come closer to Earth than this one is projected to fly . some (about 25) from the last 200 years or so down to .1 AU. that's a relief to know actually.

[herege2011]

@EleventhHour7

Starry Night Pro

[eijsbrand]

Beautiful video, though difficult to read the read texts. Obviously this spaceship Elenin is meant to adjust its trajectory a little in order to approach the Earth in a smooth glide. Russians are right about calling it an intelligent operation.

E.T. is coming back to stop WW3? Who wants to bet?

Reminds me of the song by BTO, 1975, : ''You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet!''

Peace at last, and to all!