The Comet Elenin
The comet Elenin was discovered in December 2010. The comet's orbit will be passing relatively close to Earth in the months of September, October and November 2011. Elenin's closest distance to Earth will occur on October 16, 2011, when it will be 22 million miles from our planet.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), comet Elenin will not encounter any dark bodies that could alter its orbit, and will not influence Earth in any way.
Size of Elenin
NASA estimates that comet Elenin is one single object of loosely packed icy dirt between 2 and 3 miles wide, and that, owing to its size, has no gravitational effect either on Earth or on any other celestial body.
Alignment of Elenin
According to NASA, any approximate alignments of comet Elenin with other celestial bodies, including Earth, are meaningless. This statement no doubt serves to dispel claims that previous recent alignments of the comet have caused earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.
Elenin Panic
NASA's explanations concerning comet Elenin do not support in any way ongoing speculation that the comet may have been the cause of some recent earthquakes as it approached Earth. NASA says that its information on internet for Elenin is readily available, and that if the comet were any danger to anyone, we would have been informed.
Elenin will disappear from Earth's vicinity from November 2011 and continue its orbit in Space, not to return for many a century.
For more from NASA:
No comments:
Post a Comment