{"id":2397947,"date":"2025-02-02T09:20:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T14:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/astronomers-move-fast-after-finding-nearby-asteroid-then-realize-its-a-red-sports-car\/"},"modified":"2025-02-02T09:23:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T14:23:17","slug":"astronomers-move-fast-after-finding-nearby-asteroid-then-realize-its-a-red-sports-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/astronomers-move-fast-after-finding-nearby-asteroid-then-realize-its-a-red-sports-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Astronomers Move Fast After Finding Nearby Asteroid, Then Realize It&#8217;s a Red Sports Car"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fastronomers-move-fast-after-finding-nearby-asteroid-then-realize-its-a-red-sports-car%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2397947&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A recent event sparked\u2064 excitement among \u200bscientists at \u200bthe \u200cMinor Planet Center when they identified\u2063 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/close-encounter-of-the-congressional-kind\/\" title=\"Close Encounter of the Congressional Kind\">mysterious object<\/a> in\u2063 orbit around Earth, initially believed to be an asteroid. Named &#8220;2018 CN41,&#8221; this near-Earth object \u200dwas found to \u2064be within 150,000 miles of\u200b our planet,raising concerns about its potential to enter the atmosphere. However, less than a day later, they clarified that their \u2062initial designation was incorrect. It turned\u200d out that what they had identified was not an asteroid but Elon Musk&#8217;s cherry-red Tesla Roadster, launched into space on February 6,\u2063 2018, as part of SpaceX&#8217;s\u200d Falcon Heavy rocket test. The Roadster, equipped with a mannequin astronaut named &#8220;Starman,&#8221; is currently in an elliptical orbit around the\u2064 sun adn heading towards Mars. \u2062Musk noted that the Roadster\u2063 could remain \u200bin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-taps-controversial-ex-senator-to-be-nasa-administrator\/\" title=\"Biden Taps Controversial Ex-Senator to Be NASA Administrator\">deep space<\/a> for about one billion years, assuming it doesn&#8217;t explode during ascent. The car can be \u200ctracked \u200clive\u2062 online,adding\u2062 an intriguing\u2063 twist to its space journey.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A strange &ldquo;asteroid&rdquo; orbiting the Earth even closer than the moon sent scientists at the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, scrambling.<\/p>\n<p>The institution, which is based at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, announced the unusual find on Jan. 2, after a citizen scientist discovered the anomalous object.<\/p>\n<p>They named it &ldquo;2018 CN41,&rdquo; according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.astronomy.com\/science\/astronomers-just-deleted-an-asteroid-because-it-turned-out-to-be-elon-musks-tesla-roadster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Astronomy.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Closer than 150,000 miles to our planet, the &ldquo;rock&rdquo; was deemed a near-Earth object needing careful watch, considering its potential to one day enter the atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>But less than a day later, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/op-ed-climate-scientists-buck-bow-regarding-criticism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scientists<\/a> would be palming their faces as they published an editorial update clarifying what all the fuss was apparently about.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The designation 2018 CN41 is being deleted and will be listed as omitted.,&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/minorplanetcenter.net\/mpec\/K25\/K25A49.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minor Planet Center <\/a>wrote.<\/p>\n<p>It turned out, the &ldquo;asteroid&rdquo; was really no asteroid at all, but a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">cherry-red convertible<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/tim-walz-told-get-lawyer-msnbc-nazi-attack-elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elon Musk&rsquo;s<\/a> Tesla Roadster, which he launched into orbit on Feb. 6, 2018.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Newly discovered asteroid spotted around 150,000 miles from earth turns out to be Elon Musk&rsquo;s Tesla Roadster, launched in to Space in 2018 as payload on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket test flight. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RGlIz13Aac\">pic.twitter.com\/RGlIz13Aac<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Moshe (@MosheDe_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MosheDe_\/status\/1883767964182401282?\">January 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/elon-deploys-cybertrucks-teams-spacex-tesla-la-malibu-mission-mercy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SpaceX<\/a> launched the vehicle as a payload aboard the Falcon Heavy, an unprecedented 27-engine rocket designed for deep space travel, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/mach\/science\/starman-tesla-roadster-spacex-launched-orbit-have-now-cruised-beyond-ncna931731\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The driver of the sports car? A mannequin astronaut named &ldquo;Starman,&rdquo; and with a top speed of 7 miles per second, he gets around.<\/p>\n<p>Starman is currently in an elliptical orbit around the sun and is headed for Mars, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/lesliekatz\/2025\/01\/28\/asteroid-nope-its-elon-musks-tesla-roadster-cruising-through-space\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forbes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But he&rsquo;s got a long way to go.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If all goes well, the Roadster will be in deep space for a billion years or so, if it doesn&rsquo;t blow up on ascent,&rdquo; Musk said prior to the 2018 launch, according to Forbes.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Elon Musk&rsquo;s Tesla Roadster is currently 1.64 AU from the Sun, 2.57 AU from Earth, and 3.16 AU from Mars. For more information, see <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lHXGKw1CP9\">https:\/\/t.co\/lHXGKw1CP9<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/f5hnKFb0as\">pic.twitter.com\/f5hnKFb0as<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ben Pearson- Roadster Tracker (@whereisroadster) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/whereisroadster\/status\/1884753920439824717?\">January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Musk&rsquo;s roadster can be tracked live at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whereisroadster.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whereisroadster.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Just bear in mind that there is a good chance this monster rocket blows up, so I wouldn&rsquo;t put anything of irreplaceable sentimental value on it,&rdquo; Musk <a href=\"https:\/\/www.syfy.com\/syfy-wire\/elon-musk-on-the-roadster-to-mars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told SyFy<\/a> in 2017, prior to the rocket&rsquo;s launch.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A peculiar &#8220;asteroid&#8221; that was orbiting Earth even closer than the moon caused a stir among scientists at the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This organization, part of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, revealed this unusual discovery on January 2 after a citizen scientist identified the strange object. It was designated as &#8220;2018 CN41,&#8221; as reported by Astronomy.com. Located less than 150,000 miles from Earth, this &#8220;rock&#8221; was classified as a near-Earth object that required monitoring due to its potential to eventually enter our atmosphere. However, within a day, scientists were left shaking their heads when they issued an update clarifying the situation.<\/p>\n<p>The Minor Planet Center announced that the designation &#8220;2018 CN41&#8221; would be removed from their records. It turned out that what was thought to be an asteroid was actually Elon Musk&#8217;s cherry-red Tesla Roadster launched into space on February 6, 2018. The vehicle served as payload for SpaceX&#8217;s Falcon Heavy rocket test flight and is currently in an elliptical orbit around the sun heading towards Mars.<\/p>\n<p>Musk had previously stated that if everything went smoothly, the Roadster could remain in deep space for about a billion years unless it exploded during launch. As of now, it is approximately 1.64 AU from the Sun and can be tracked live at whereisroadster.com. Musk humorously warned against placing anything of sentimental value on board due to potential risks during launch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2397948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Starman.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[21161,41268,6970,23272,49670],"class_list":["post-2397947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-asteroid","tag-astronomy","tag-discovery","tag-humor","tag-red-sports-car"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Starman.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2397947"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2397951,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397947\/revisions\/2397951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2397948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2397947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2397947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2397947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}