2003 QQ47

Infobox Planet | discovery=yes | physical_characteristics = yes | bgcolour=#FFFFC0
name=2003 QQ₄₇
discoverer=LINEAR
discovered=August 24, 2003
alt_names="none"
mp_category=Apollo asteroid
epoch=October 22, 2004 (JD 2453300.5)
semimajor=162.380 Gm (1.085 AU)
perihelion=132.005 Gm (0.882 AU)
aphelion=192.756 Gm (1.288 AU)
eccentricity=0.187
period=413.057 d (1.13 a)
inclination=62.102°
asc_node=1.014°
arg_peri=105.042°
mean_anomaly=290.754°
avg_speed=28.34 km/s
dimensions=1.24 km
mass=2.0×10¹² kg
density=2.0? g/cm³
surface_grav=0.0003 m/s²
escape_velocity=0.0007 km/s
rotation=? d
spectral_type=?
abs_magnitude=17.3
albedo=0.10?
single_temperature=~267 K

mp|2003 QQ|47 (also written 2003 QQ47) is an asteroid which became famous briefly upon its discovery in late August 2003 when media outlets played up a preliminary report that it had a 1:250,000 chance of colliding with Earth on March 21, 2014.

A NASA spokesman said,:"Newly discovered asteroid mp|2003 QQ|47 has received considerable media attention over the last few days because it had a small chance of colliding with the Earth in the year 2014 and was rated a "1" on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, which goes from 0 to 10. The odds of collision in 2014, as estimated by JPL's Sentry impact monitoring system, peaked at 1 chance in 250,000, a result which was posted on our Impact Risk Page on Saturday, August 30, 2003. Impact events at the Torino Scale 1 level certainly merit careful monitoring by astronomers, but these events do not warrant public concern. In fact, each year several newly discovered asteroids reach Torino Scale 1 for a brief period after discovery; mp|2003 QQ|47 is the fourth such case this year.:On September 2, 2003, new measurements of mp|2003 QQ|47's position allowed us to narrow our prediction of its path in 2014, and thus we could rule out any Earth impact possibilities for 2014." [http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news138.html]

mp|2003 QQ|47 has a diameter of approximately 1.24 km, and a mass of approximately 2.0×10¹² kg . If it were to hit the Earth, it would be a major event, with an energy of approximately 350,000 megatons of TNT (1.5 ZJ), enough to cause global damage.

Dr. Sara Russell, a meteorite researcher at London's Natural History Museum, told the BBC that she was not worried that mp|2003 QQ|47 would be a danger.

:"The odds are very, very low... We have to keep some kind of perspective," she said.

See the article on risk for more on dread, the perception of risk.

As a result of the press coverage of asteroids such as mp|2003 QQ|47, astronomers are now planning to re-word the Torino scale, or to phase it out completely in favour of a scale which is less likely to generate false alarms which may reduce public confidence in genuine alerts.

External links

* [http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news138.html Asteroid mp|2003 QQ|47's Potential Earth Impact in 2014 Ruled Out] - NASA
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3200019.stm BBC news story on mp|2003 QQ|47]
* [http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994178 "New Scientist" story on astronomers' reactions to press coverage of mp|2003 QQ|47]