2008 TC3: the Small Asteroid with an Impact
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Ice& Stone 2020
Ice & Stone 2020 WEEK 41: OCTOBER 4-10 Presented by The Earthrise Institute # 41 Authored by Alan Hale This week in history OCTOBER 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OCTOBER 4, 2020: The main-belt asteroid (1679) Nevanlinna will occult the 7th-magnitude star HD 224945 in Pisces. The predicted path of the occultation crosses Newfoundland, part of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, the northeastern through the south-central U.S. (including Houston, Texas), north-central Mexico (including the northern regions of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon), and the southern Pacific Ocean. OCTOBER 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OCTOBER 7, 2008: Twenty hours after its discovery by Richard Kowalski during the course of the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona, the tiny asteroid 2008 TC3 enters Earth’s atmosphere above Sudan, explodes, and drops meteorite fragments – the Almahata Sitta meteorite – on the Nubian Desert. This is the first instance of an impacting asteroid being discovered in space while still inbound to an impact, and it is the subject of this week’s “Special Topics” presentation. OCTOBER 7, 2009: Astronomers using the Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii announce that the surface of the large main-belt asteroid (24) Themis appears to be completely covered with water ice. The significance of this discovery is discussed in a previous “Special Topics” presentation. OCTOBER 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OCTOBER 8, 1769: Comet Messier C/1769 P1 passes through perihelion at a heliocentric distance of 0.123 AU. This was the brightest comet discovered by the 18th-Century French comet hunter Charles Messier and is a previous “Comet of the Week.” OCTOBER 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OCTOBER 9, 1933: A brief but strong “storm” of Draconid meteors is seen over Europe. -
NASA Ames Jim Arnold, Craig Burkhardt Et Al
The re-entry of artificial meteoroid WT1190F AIAA SciTech 2016 1/5/2016 2008 TC3 Impact October 7, 2008 Mohammad Odeh International Astronomical Center, Abu Dhabi Peter Jenniskens SETI Institute Asteroid Threat Assessment Project (ATAP) - NASA Ames Jim Arnold, Craig Burkhardt et al. Michael Aftosmis - NASA Ames 2 Darrel Robertson - NASA Ames Next TC3 Consortium http://impact.seti.org Mission Statement: Steve Larson (Catalina Sky Survey) “Be prepared for the next 2008 TC3 John Tonry (ATLAS) impact” José Luis Galache (Minor Planet Center) Focus on two aspects: Steve Chesley (NASA JPL) 1. Airborne observations of the reentry Alan Fitzsimmons (Queen’s Univ. Belfast) 2. Rapid recovery of meteorites Eileen Ryan (Magdalena Ridge Obs.) Franck Marchis (SETI Institute) Ron Dantowitz (Clay Center Observatory) Jay Grinstead (NASA Ames Res. Cent.) Peter Jenniskens (SETI Institute - POC) You? 5 NASA/JPL “Sentry” early alert October 3, 2015: WT1190F Davide Farnocchia (NASA/JPL) Catalina Sky Survey: Richard Kowalski Steve Chesley (NASA/JPL) Marco Michelli (ESA NEOO CC) 6 WT1190F Found: October 3, 2015: one more passage Oct. 24 Traced back to: 2013, 2012, 2011, …, 2009 Re-entry: Friday November 13, 2015 10.61 km/s 20.6º angle Bill Gray 11 IAC + UAE Space Agency chartered commercial G450 Mohammad Odeh (IAC, Abu Dhabi) Support: UAE Space Agency Dexter Southfield /Embry-Riddle AU 14 ESA/University Stuttgart 15 SETI Institute 16 Dexter Southfield team Time UAE Camera Trans-Lunar Insertion Stage Leading candidate (1/13/2016): LUNAR PROSPECTOR T.L.I.S. Launch: January 7, 1998 UT Lunar Prospector itself was deliberately crashed on Moon July 31, 1999 Carbon fiber composite Spin hull thrusters Titanium case holds Amonium Thiokol Perchlorate fuel and Star Stage 3700S HTPB binder (both contain H) P.I.: Alan Binder Scott Hubbard 57-minutes later: Mission Director Separation of TLIS NASA Ames http://impact.seti.org 30 . -
The Comet's Tale
THE COMET’S TALE Journal of the Comet Section of the British Astronomical Association Number 33, 2014 January Not the Comet of the Century 2013 R1 (Lovejoy) imaged by Damian Peach on 2013 December 24 using 106mm F5. STL-11k. LRGB. L: 7x2mins. RGB: 1x2mins. Today’s images of bright binocular comets rival drawings of Great Comets of the nineteenth century. Rather predictably the expected comet of the century Contents failed to materialise, however several of the other comets mentioned in the last issue, together with the Comet Section contacts 2 additional surprise shown above, put on good From the Director 2 appearances. 2011 L4 (PanSTARRS), 2012 F6 From the Secretary 3 (Lemmon), 2012 S1 (ISON) and 2013 R1 (Lovejoy) all Tales from the past 5 th became brighter than 6 magnitude and 2P/Encke, 2012 RAS meeting report 6 K5 (LINEAR), 2012 L2 (LINEAR), 2012 T5 (Bressi), Comet Section meeting report 9 2012 V2 (LINEAR), 2012 X1 (LINEAR), and 2013 V3 SPA meeting - Rob McNaught 13 (Nevski) were all binocular objects. Whether 2014 will Professional tales 14 bring such riches remains to be seen, but three comets The Legacy of Comet Hunters 16 are predicted to come within binocular range and we Project Alcock update 21 can hope for some new discoveries. We should get Review of observations 23 some spectacular close-up images of 67P/Churyumov- Prospects for 2014 44 Gerasimenko from the Rosetta spacecraft. BAA COMET SECTION NEWSLETTER 2 THE COMET’S TALE Comet Section contacts Director: Jonathan Shanklin, 11 City Road, CAMBRIDGE. CB1 1DP England. Phone: (+44) (0)1223 571250 (H) or (+44) (0)1223 221482 (W) Fax: (+44) (0)1223 221279 (W) E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected] WWW page : http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/ Assistant Director (Observations): Guy Hurst, 16 Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise, BASINGSTOKE, Hampshire. -
Radar-Enabled Recovery of the Sutter's Mill Meteorite, A
RESEARCH ARTICLES the area (2). One meteorite fell at Sutter’sMill (SM), the gold discovery site that initiated the California Gold Rush. Two months after the fall, Radar-Enabled Recovery of the Sutter’s SM find numbers were assigned to the 77 me- teorites listed in table S3 (3), with a total mass of 943 g. The biggest meteorite is 205 g. Mill Meteorite, a Carbonaceous This is a tiny fraction of the pre-atmospheric mass, based on the kinetic energy derived from Chondrite Regolith Breccia infrasound records. Eyewitnesses reported hearing aloudboomfollowedbyadeeprumble.Infra- Peter Jenniskens,1,2* Marc D. Fries,3 Qing-Zhu Yin,4 Michael Zolensky,5 Alexander N. Krot,6 sound signals (table S2A) at stations I57US and 2 2 7 8 8,9 Scott A. Sandford, Derek Sears, Robert Beauford, Denton S. Ebel, Jon M. Friedrich, I56US of the International Monitoring System 6 4 4 10 Kazuhide Nagashima, Josh Wimpenny, Akane Yamakawa, Kunihiko Nishiizumi, (4), located ~770 and ~1080 km from the source, 11 12 10 13 Yasunori Hamajima, Marc W. Caffee, Kees C. Welten, Matthias Laubenstein, are consistent with stratospherically ducted ar- 14,15 14 14,15 16 Andrew M. Davis, Steven B. Simon, Philipp R. Heck, Edward D. Young, rivals (5). The combined average periods of all 17 18 18 19 20 Issaku E. Kohl, Mark H. Thiemens, Morgan H. Nunn, Takashi Mikouchi, Kenji Hagiya, phase-aligned stacked waveforms at each station 21 22 22 22 23 Kazumasa Ohsumi, Thomas A. Cahill, Jonathan A. Lawton, David Barnes, Andrew Steele, of 7.6 s correspond to a mean source energy of 24 4 24 2 25 Pierre Rochette, Kenneth L. -
Three Decades of Small-Telescope Science
Three Decades of Small-Telescope Science A Report on the 2011 Society for Astronomical Sciences 30th Annual Sym- posium on Telescope Science Robert K. Buchheim For three decades, the Society for Astronomical Sciences has supported small telescope sci- ence, encouraged amateur research, and facilitated pro-am collaboration. On May 24-26, more than one hundred participants in the 30th anniversary SAS Symposium heard presentations cov- ering a wide range of astronomical topics, reaching from the laboratory to the distant cosmos. From Planets to Galaxies Sky & Telescope Editor-in-Chief Bob Naeye opened the technical session with a review of the amateur contributions to exoplanet discovery and research through monitoring of transits and micro-lensing events. R. Jay GaBany described his participation as an astro-imager in the search for evidence of galactic mergers. His exquisite deep images taken with his 24-inch telescope displayed the di- verse patterns of star streams that can be left behind when a dwarf galaxy is disrupted and ab- sorbed by a larger galaxy. He also noted that not all faint structures are evidence of galactic mergers: the faint ”loop” structure near M-81 is actually foreground “galactic cirrus” in our own Milky Way masquerading as a faux tidal loop. Education and Outreach Several papers related to education and outreach were presented. Debra Ceravolo applied her expertise in the generation and perception of colors, to describe a new method of merging narrow-band (e.g. Hα) and broad-band (e.g. RGB) images into a natural-color image that displays enhanced detail without glaring false colors. -
Planetary Defense Final Report I
Team Project - Planetary Defense Final Report i Team Project - Planetary Defense Final Report ii Team Project - Planetary Defense Cover designed by: Tihomir Dimitrov Images courtesy of: Earth Image - NASA US Geological Survey Detection Image - ESA's Optical Ground Station Laser Tags ISS Deflection Image - IEEE Space Based Lasers Collaboration Image - United Nations General Assembly Building Outreach Image - Dreamstime teacher with students in classroom Evacuation Image - Libyan City of Syrte destroyed in 2011 Shield Image - Silver metal shield PNG image The cover page was designed to include a visual representation of the roadmap for a robust Planetary Defense Program that includes five elements: detection, deflection, global collaboration, outreach, and evacuation. The shield represents the idea of defending our planet, giving confidence to the general public that the Planetary Defense elements are reliable. The orbit represents the comet threat and how it is handled by the shield, which represents the READI Project. The curved lines used in the background give a sense of flow representing the continuation and further development for Planetary Defense programs after this team project, as we would like for everyone to be involved and take action in this noble task of protecting Earth. The 2015 Space Studies Program of the International Space University was hosted by the Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA. While all care has been taken in the preparation of this report, ISU does not take any responsibility for the accuracy of its content. -
Career Pages of Astronomer Dr. Peter Jenniskens Peter Jenniskens, Ph.D
10/8/2014 Career pages of astronomer Dr. Peter Jenniskens Peter Jenniskens, Ph.D. Meteor astronomer Carl Sagan Center, The SETI Institute. E-mail: Petrus.M.Jenniskens [at] nasa.gov, Tel: 1 (650) 810 0216; Fax: 1 (650) 962 9419 Last update: December 08, 2008; List of Publications Curriculum vitae Astronomer Dr. Peter Jenniskens [Portrait (3.2 Mbyte)] is a Research Scientist with the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute and works on mission projects at NASA/Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, and on research topics that relate to interstellar and interplanetary matter. Research Interests: Meteor showers - Jenniskens is an expert on meteor showers, and is known for identifying the parent body of the Quadrantid shower: a minor planet called 2003 EH1. Main belt asteroid 1999 TY224 was named (42981) "Jenniskens". He is the Principal Investigator of ASIMA - the Asteroid Impact Analyzer, a proposed satellite mission (2014-2016) to measure the carbon content of meteors from space and study the diversity of comets and asteroids. He predicted the return of the unusual Aurigid shower from dust ejected around 4 AD by long-period comet Kiess on September 1, 2007, and was the Principal Investigator of the Aurigid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign (Aurigid MAC), an airborne mission that deployed from NASA Ames to study this meteor outburst. This was followed by a study of dust ejected by comet 8P/Tuttle (Ursid MAC) in December 2007, and a mission in January 2008 to study the Quadrantid meteor shower for clues to its date of origin (Quadrantid MAC). Before that, Jenniskens was the Principal Investigator of NASA's first Astrobiology mission, Leonid MAC, an airborne campaign to explore the 1998 - 2002 Leonid storms and study meteoroids and their paths from extra-terrestrial to terrestrial matter. -
The 1999 Leonid Multi.Instrument Aircraft Campaign - an Early Review
THE 1999 LEONID MULTI.INSTRUMENT AIRCRAFT CAMPAIGN - AN EARLY REVIEW PETER JENNISKENS _, STEVEN J. BUTOW _, AND MARK FONDA NASA Ames Research Center, Mai_ Stop 239-4, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 I with SETI Institute E.mail: [email protected] (Received 10 July 2000; Accepted 15August 2000) Abstract. The Leonid meteor storm of 1999 was observed from two B707-type research aircraft by a team of 35 scientists of seven nationalities over the Mediterranean Sea on Nov. 18, 1999. The mission was sponsored by various science programs of NASA, and offered the best possible observing conditions, free of clouds and at a prime location for viewing the storm. The 1999 mission followed a similar effort in 1998, improving upon mission strategy and scope. As before, spectroscopic and imaging experiments targeted meteors and persistent trains, but also airglow, aurora, elves and sprites. The research aimed to address outstanding questions in Planetary Science, Astronomy, Astrobiology and upper atmospheric research, including Aeronomie. In addition, near real-time flux measurements contributed to a USAF sponsored program for space weather awareness. An overview of the first results is given, which are discussed in preparation for future missions. Keywords: Airborne astronomy, astrobiology, chemistry, comets, composition, elves, exobiology, instrumental techniques, Leonid MAC, Leonids 1999, lower thermosphere, meteoroids, meteor storm, meteors, mesosphere, orbital dynamics, satellite impact hazard, sprites 1. Introduction The widely anticipated return of the Leonid shower in November of 1999 offered our best chance yet to observe a meteor storm with modern techniques. Just prior to the last year's campaign, E.A. -
The Recovery of Asteroid 2008 TC3
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 1–33 (2010) doi: 10.1111/j.1945-5100.2010.01116.x The recovery of asteroid 2008 TC3 Muawia H. SHADDAD1, Peter JENNISKENS2*, Diyaa NUMAN1, Ayman M. KUDODA1, Saadia ELSIR3, Ihab F. RIYAD1, Awad Elkareem ALI4, Mohammed ALAMEEN1, Nada M. ALAMEEN1, Omer EID1, Ahmed T. OSMAN1, Mohamed I. AbuBAKER1, Mohamed YOUSIF1, Steven R. CHESLEY5, Paul W. CHODAS5, Jim ALBERS2, Wayne N. EDWARDS6,7, Peter G. BROWN6, Jacob KUIPER8, and Jon M. FRIEDRICH9,10 1Department of Physics, University of Khartoum, P.O. Box 321, Khartoum 11115, Sudan 2SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, 189 Bernardo Avenue, Mountain View, California 94043, USA 3Department of Physics, Juba University, P.O. Box 321, Khartoum 11115, Juba, Sudan 4Department of Chemistry, University of Khartoum, P.O. Box 321, Khartoum 11115, Sudan 5Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA 6Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada 7Canadian Hazards Information Service, Natural Resources Canada, 7 Observatory Crescent Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y3, Canada 8Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, Wilhelminalaan 10, 3732 GK De Bilt, The Netherlands 9Department of Chemistry, Fordham University, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, New York 10458, USA 10Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, American Museum of Natural History, 79th Street at Central Park West, New York, New York 10025, USA *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (Received 25 January 2010; revision accepted 17 September 2010) Abstract–On October 7, 2008, asteroid 2008 TC3 impacted Earth and fragmented at 37 km altitude above the Nubian Desert in northern Sudan. The area surrounding the asteroid’s approach path was searched, resulting in the first recovery of meteorites from an asteroid observed in space. -
Primefocus Tri-Valley Stargazers January 2016
PRIMEFOCUS Tri-Valley Stargazers January 2016 January Meeting The History and Science of Lick Observatory Dr. Paul Lynam Lick Observatory, wholly owned and operated by the University of California, was the first astronomical observatory purpose-built at alti- tude. It demonstrated the practicality of large- scale glass substrate reflecting telescopes for research. It was the fulcrum upon which the United States pivoted to dominance in obser- Meeting Info vational astronomy at the close of the 19th What: century and the dawn 20th. This presentation The History and Science of Lick offers a little known history of James Lick, what Observatory motivated him to establish Lick Observatory and the processes and people that lead to the Who: establishment of what was for decades the Dr. Paul Lynam world’s foremost astronomical observatory, When: located in the county of Santa Clara. Even prior January 15, 2016 to completion, Lick Observatory was making Doors open at 7:00 p.m. important discoveries, developing technolo- Meeting at 7:30 p.m. gies and setting standards. It continues to train Caption: 3-meter Shane Telescope Lecture at 8:00 p.m. generations of scientists and inspire the wider at Lick Observatory. Credit: Ken public --- a role it has fulfilled for over 100 Sperber Where: years. Lick remains at the forefront of scientific Unitarian Universalist and technological advances, annually enabling over 200 Californian astronomers Church in Livermore to undertake and publish front line, cutting-edge research. Lick continues to pio- 1893 N. Vasco Road neer and has much more work to do. Some outstanding contributions from Lick’s history and current work shall be highlighted, as well as some prospects for the future. -
Inner Workings: Networks of Cameras Are Tracking Meteorites With
INNER WORKINGS INNER WORKINGS Networks of cameras are tracking meteorites with unprecedented precision Danielle Venton, Science Writer Around the globe, networks of camera lenses are which asteroids or near-earth region of space from trained upward. They scan the night skies, aiming to which the rocks emanate. Those participating in these catch streaks of bright light: meteorites as they fall to networks are photographing, tracking, and hunting Earth. Searching for these space rocks is not new. down meteorites. But the precision and resolution with which increasingly The DFN consists of 52 autonomous digital cam- expansive networks of Earth-bound cameras are track- eras placed in the hot, dry Nullarbor desert, with an- ing meteorites is starting to offer insights into both other dozen cameras scattered in multiple countries. where these bodies go and where they came from. Waterproof containers help the cameras survive the For astronomers, catching sight of a meteor is Australian outback; inbuilt fans keep the cameras cool more than a stroke of luck. It represents a potentially through the day. The project is a collaboration be- valuable research sample that has fallen to Earth. tween Imperial College London, Ondrejov Observa- “These are samples of heavenly bodies reaching us tory in the Czech Republic, Curtin University in Western decades before we might actually go there,” says Australia, and the Western Australian Museum. Phil Bland, planetary scientist at Curtin University To help achieve a high-resolution view of the skies, and director of the Desert Fireball Network (DFN) the network also enlists citizen scientists. According to in Australia. His network is one of several high-tech the project’s website, more than 26,000 people in attempts to track and gather meteorites in the 88 countries have downloaded the app “Fireballs in hopes of understanding their origins, frequency, the Sky.” Users point their phones to the place in the and composition. -
7 X 11 Long.P65
Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85349-1 - Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets Peter Jenniskens Frontmatter More information Meteor Showers and Their Parent Comets It is only in the past ten years that advanced computing techniques and painstaking observations have enabled the successful prediction and observation of meteor storms. Spectacular displays of ‘‘shooting stars’’ are created when the Earth crosses a meteoroid stream, causing the meteoroids to light up into meteors as they enter our atmosphere. Meteor Showers and Their Parent Comets is a unique handbook for astronomers interested in observing meteor storms and outbursts. The author, a leading astro- nomer in the field and an active meteor storm chaser, explains how meteoroid streams originate from the decay of comets (and asteroids) and how they evolve into ever changing orbits by the gravitational pull of planets to cause meteor showers on Earth. He includes the findings of recent space missions that have visited comets and asteroids, the risk of meteoroid impacts on Earth, what showers to expect on other planets, and how meteor showers may have seeded the Earth with the ingredients that made life possible. All known meteor showers are identified, accompanied by fascinating details on the most important showers and their parent comets. The book predicts when exceptional meteor showers will occur over the next 50 years, making it a valuable resource for both amateur and professional astronomers. Astronomer P ETER J ENNISKENS completed his Ph.D. at Leiden University, the Netherlands, in 1992. He then worked as a National Research Council Associate at the Exobiology branch of the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, where he uncovered exotic properties of astrophysical ices, such as those in comets.