DOCSLIB.ORG

Jjmonl 1902.Pmd

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Jjmonl 1902.Pmd alactic Observer John J. McCarthy Observatory G Volume 12, No. 2 February 2019 Ice-Covered Branches Glisten Under the Illumination of a Full Wolf Moon - Photo: Bill Cloutier The John J. McCarthy Observatory Galactic Observer New Milford High School Editorial Committee 388 Danbury Road Managing Editor New Milford, CT 06776 Bill Cloutier Phone/Voice: (860) 210-4117 Production & Design Phone/Fax: (860) 354-1595 www.mccarthyobservatory.org Allan Ostergren Website Development JJMO Staff Marc Polansky Technical Support It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatory Bob Lambert has established itself as a significant educational and recreational resource within the western Connecticut Dr. Parker Moreland community. Steve Barone Jim Johnstone Colin Campbell Carly KleinStern Dennis Cartolano Bob Lambert Route Mike Chiarella Roger Moore Jeff Chodak Parker Moreland, PhD Bill Cloutier Allan Ostergren Doug Delisle Marc Polansky Cecilia Detrich Joe Privitera Dirk Feather Monty Robson Randy Fender Don Ross Louise Gagnon Gene Schilling John Gebauer Katie Shusdock Elaine Green Paul Woodell Tina Hartzell Amy Ziffer In This Issue OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT .................................... 4 JOHN GLENN AND THE FLIGHT OF FREEDOM 7 ................... 22 VALENTINE DOME .......................................................... 4 SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 23 SUPER BLOOD WOLF MOON ............................................ 5 ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 23 UPDATE ON ULTIMA THULE .............................................. 6 COMMONLY USED TERMS ............................................... 28 PERILOUS TIMES AHEAD IN THE GALACTIC NEIGHBORHOOD .7 REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 28 CHINA ON THE FAR SIDE .................................................. 8 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 28 GALACTIC CANNIBALISM ................................................. 8 SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 28 SATURN'S EPHEMERAL RINGS ........................................... 9 LAGRANGE POINTS ........................................................ 29 A DAY ON SATURN ......................................................... 10 NASA'S GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE RESOURCE ............... 29 ROCK STRENGTH AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LIFE CONTACT INFORMATION ................................................. 30 ON OCEAN WORLDS ....................................................... 11 RUMBLE IN THE ASTEROID BELT ...................................... 12 SPOTLIGHT ON THE MCCARTHY OBSERVATORY'S METEORITE COLLECTION ............................................... 12 BENNU ......................................................................... 13 CRATERING RATE CHANGES ON THE MOON AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EARTH ........................................ 19 SUPERNOVA ................................................................... 20 SOVIET MOON PROGRAM ............................................... 21 February Astronomy Calendar and Space Exploration Almanac The Earth's orbit, like all planets that are bound to the Sun, is elliptical although its eccentricity (amount by which the orbit deviates from a perfect circle) is small. At its closest point to the Sun (perihelion), around January 3rd, the Earth is approximately 91.7 million miles (147 km) from the Sun while at the furthest, around July 4th, the Earth is approximately 94.8 million miles (152 km) from the Sun (a 3.1 million mile difference). The images (above) were taken in early July 2017 and January 2018 with the same camera and identical settings. While the difference in the diameter of the Sun is small (with the 3.5% difference in the max/min distance), it is still noticeable. The sunlight falling on the Earth is slightly more intense in January but with the northern hemisphere tilted away from the Sun and the Sun lower in the sky, the days are shorter and colder. Photos: Bill Cloutier Out the Window on feet (122 meters) above the adja- biter. Older peaks poke through Your Left" cent mare. The dome's north- the surface of the dome -- sev- It's been more than 45 years since south profile (shown below) was eral are visible in the photo on we left the last footprint on the generated from data collected by the following page, as well as a dusty lunar surface. Sadly, as a na- the Lunar ReconnaissanceMare Serenitatis Or- faint rille (fissure) that traverses tion founded on exploration and the conquest of new frontiers, we appear to have lost our will to lead as a space-faring nation. But, what if the average citizen had the means to visit our only natural satellite; LROC ACT-REACT-QuickMap http://target.lroc.asu.edu/q3/ Valentine Dome Lunar seas are actually expansive low- lying plains formed by ancient lava flows what would they see out the window of their spacecraft as they entered orbit around the Moon? This column may provide some thoughts to ponder when planning your visit (if only in your imagination). A broad, low-profile lava dome is visible as the waxing Moon achieves first quarter phase on Feb- ruary 23rd and the Sun is low in the lunar sky. Valentine Dome is located along the northwestern shore of Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity), along the Caucasus Mountains and just north of the breech into the Imbrium basin (30.9° latitude, 10.1° longitude). It is one of the largest domes visible on the lunar surface, measuring ap- proximately 18.6 miles (30 km) across its heart-shaped surface. Lava domes are volcanic pro- trusions created by an upwelling of magma. On average, the top of the Valentine dome rises 400 4 • Feb 2019 JJMO http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org the dome in an east-west direc- For scale, crater Linné is 1.5 Linné brightens as the Moon tion. A second, much smaller miles (2.4 km) across. Craters F waxes, becoming a bright white dome, lies just to the north of and B are 3 miles (4.8 km) in spot under the sunlight of a Full Valentine. diameter. Despite its small size, Moon. Super Blood nating the Moon. If the Earth did ash into the upper atmosphere that Wolf Moon not have an atmosphere, the Moon can effectively block refracted sun- Lunar eclipse watchers in New would completely disappear within light during an eclipse. On the England on the night of January the Earth’s shadow or umbra. With other end of the scale, an L4 value 20/21 were hampered by the af- an atmosphere, sunlight is refracted is indicative of a relatively clear at- termath of a major snow and ice or bent around the Earth, provid- mosphere. The L value for this ob- storm, frigid temperatures and arc- ing feeble illumination to an object server in New Milford was be- tic winds. In New Milford, skies within its shadow. The intensity of tween L2 and L3. cleared in time to view the partial the scattered light varies by the The Moon in the upper photo is eclipse phase, but a cloud layer amount of water vapor and particu- not illuminated evenly, with the moved into the area from the west late (dust, ash and other debris) in northern limb much brighter than around the time of totality that the atmosphere. This material can the southern limb. Since the Moon’s started at 11:41 pm EST. At first, block, filter and/or scatter the sun- orbit is slightly inclined, its path the eclipsed Moon was visible light as it’s being refracted, thereby through the Earth’s shadow will through intermittent openings in affecting the appearance of the vary, something traveling through the cloud deck, however; by mid- Moon. French astronomer Andre the upper half and, at other times, eclipse, the cloud deck had thick- Danjon created a five-point scale traveling through the lower half. ened. The temperature at mid- in the 1920s to evaluate the Moon’s The Moon traveled though the up- eclipse was 5°, with gusty winds appearance during totality. An L0 per half of the umbra during and frozen toes. value is so dark that little detail is January’s eclipse, so the Moon’s During a total eclipse, the Earth visible. This can occur when a ma- southern limb was closer to the blocks direct sunlight from illumi- jor volcanic eruption hurls dust and center of the shadow and therefore West Coast observer, Conor Cloutier, reported fair weather conditions on Sunday evening with a temperature around 40°, but Fully eclipsed supermoon captured around 12:15 AM EST an eclipsed Moon darker in appearance on January 21, 2019. Photo: Bill Cloutier (estimated between an L1 and L2) http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org JJMO Feb 2019 • 5 darker. The crimson color is the result of the Earth’s atmosphere filtering out the shorter wavelength blue-colored light. January’s full moon occurred when the Moon was closest to the Earth in its elliptical orbit (the Moon’s distance from the Earth can vary as much as 26,500 miles or 42,600 km). When this occurs, the Moon can appear up to 14% larger in the sky and 30% brighter, and is commonly re- ferred to as a “supermoon.” To add to the excitement, sev- eral observers photographing the Moon at the start of totality man- aged to capture the flash from the impact of an object on the lunar surface, west of Mare Humorum (Sea of Moisture) at 11:41 p.m. EST. The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England recorded a second flash two minutes later. Update on Image from the Griffith Observatory broadcast and the impact flash Ultima Thule Data from the New Horizons spacecraft’s successful flyby of the Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69 in the early morning of January 1, 2019 will
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Copyrighted Material
    Index Abulfeda crater chain (Moon), 97 Aphrodite Terra (Venus), 142, 143, 144, 145, 146 Acheron Fossae (Mars), 165 Apohele asteroids, 353–354 Achilles asteroids, 351 Apollinaris Patera (Mars), 168 achondrite meteorites, 360 Apollo asteroids, 346, 353, 354, 361, 371 Acidalia Planitia (Mars), 164 Apollo program, 86, 96, 97, 101, 102, 108–109, 110, 361 Adams, John Couch, 298 Apollo 8, 96 Adonis, 371 Apollo 11, 94, 110 Adrastea, 238, 241 Apollo 12, 96, 110 Aegaeon, 263 Apollo 14, 93, 110 Africa, 63, 73, 143 Apollo 15, 100, 103, 104, 110 Akatsuki spacecraft (see Venus Climate Orbiter) Apollo 16, 59, 96, 102, 103, 110 Akna Montes (Venus), 142 Apollo 17, 95, 99, 100, 102, 103, 110 Alabama, 62 Apollodorus crater (Mercury), 127 Alba Patera (Mars), 167 Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP), 110 Aldrin, Edwin (Buzz), 94 Apophis, 354, 355 Alexandria, 69 Appalachian mountains (Earth), 74, 270 Alfvén, Hannes, 35 Aqua, 56 Alfvén waves, 35–36, 43, 49 Arabia Terra (Mars), 177, 191, 200 Algeria, 358 arachnoids (see Venus) ALH 84001, 201, 204–205 Archimedes crater (Moon), 93, 106 Allan Hills, 109, 201 Arctic, 62, 67, 84, 186, 229 Allende meteorite, 359, 360 Arden Corona (Miranda), 291 Allen Telescope Array, 409 Arecibo Observatory, 114, 144, 341, 379, 380, 408, 409 Alpha Regio (Venus), 144, 148, 149 Ares Vallis (Mars), 179, 180, 199 Alphonsus crater (Moon), 99, 102 Argentina, 408 Alps (Moon), 93 Argyre Basin (Mars), 161, 162, 163, 166, 186 Amalthea, 236–237, 238, 239, 241 Ariadaeus Rille (Moon), 100, 102 Amazonis Planitia (Mars), 161 COPYRIGHTED
    [Show full text]
  • Jjmonl 1603.Pmd
    alactic Observer GJohn J. McCarthy Observatory Volume 9, No. 3 March 2016 GRAIL - On the Trail of the Moon's Missing Mass GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) was a NASA scientific mission in 2011/12 to map the surface of the moon and collect data on gravitational anomalies. The image here is an artist's impres- sion of the twin satellites (Ebb and Flow) orbiting in tandem above a gravitational image of the moon. See inside, page 4 for information on gravitational anomalies (mascons) or visit http://solarsystem. nasa.gov/grail. The John J. McCarthy Observatory Galactic Observer New Milford High School Editorial Committee 388 Danbury Road Managing Editor New Milford, CT 06776 Bill Cloutier Phone/Voice: (860) 210-4117 Production & Design Phone/Fax: (860) 354-1595 www.mccarthyobservatory.org Allan Ostergren Website Development JJMO Staff Marc Polansky It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatory Technical Support has established itself as a significant educational and Bob Lambert recreational resource within the western Connecticut Dr. Parker Moreland community. Steve Barone Jim Johnstone Colin Campbell Carly KleinStern Dennis Cartolano Bob Lambert Mike Chiarella Roger Moore Route Jeff Chodak Parker Moreland, PhD Bill Cloutier Allan Ostergren Cecilia Dietrich Marc Polansky Dirk Feather Joe Privitera Randy Fender Monty Robson Randy Finden Don Ross John Gebauer Gene Schilling Elaine Green Katie Shusdock Tina Hartzell Paul Woodell Tom Heydenburg Amy Ziffer In This Issue "OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT" ............................... 4 SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 13 MARE HUMBOLDTIANIUM AND THE NORTHEAST LIMB ......... 5 JUPITER AND ITS MOONS ................................................. 13 ONE YEAR IN SPACE ....................................................... 6 TRANSIT OF JUPITER'S RED SPOT ....................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Orbital Evolution of Asteroid 367943 Duende (2012 Da14) Under Yarkovsky Effect Influence and Its Implications for Collision with the Earth
    Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Special Issue on AASEC’2016, October (2017) 42 - 52 © School of Engineering, Taylor’s University THE ORBITAL EVOLUTION OF ASTEROID 367943 DUENDE (2012 DA14) UNDER YARKOVSKY EFFECT INFLUENCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR COLLISION WITH THE EARTH JUDHISTIRA ARIA UTAMA1,2,*, TAUFIQ HIDAYAT3, UMAR FAUZI4 1Astronomy Post Graduate Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia 2Physics Education Department, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudhi 229, Bandung, 40154, Indonesia 3Astronomy Research Division, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia 4Geophysics & Complex System Research Division, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia *Corresponding Author: [email protected] Abstract Asteroid 367943 Duende (2012 DA14) holds the record as the one of Aten subpopulation with H 24 that had experienced deep close encounter event to the Earth (0.09x Earth-Moon distance) as informed in NASA website. In this work, we studied the orbital evolution of 120 asteroid clones and the nominal up to 5 Megayears (Myr) in the future using Swift integrator package with and without the Yarkovsky effect inclusion. At the end of orbital integration with both integrators, we found as many as 17 asteroid clones end their lives as Earth impactor. The prediction of maximum semimajor axis drift for this subkilometer-sized asteroid from diurnal and seasonal variants of Yarkovsky effect was 9.0×10-3 AU/Myr and 2.6×10-4 AU/Myr, respectively. By using the MOID (Minimum Orbital Intersection Distance) data set calculated from our integrators of entire clones and nominal asteroids, we obtained the value of impact rate with the Earth of 2.35×10-7 per year (with Yarkovsky effect) and 2.37×10-7 per year (without Yarkovsky effect), which corresponds to a mean lifetime of 4.25 Myr and 4.22 Myr, respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • 1950 Da, 205, 269 1979 Va, 230 1991 Ry16, 183 1992 Kd, 61 1992
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-09684-4 — Asteroids Thomas H. Burbine Index More Information 356 Index 1950 DA, 205, 269 single scattering, 142, 143, 144, 145 1979 VA, 230 visual Bond, 7 1991 RY16, 183 visual geometric, 7, 27, 28, 163, 185, 189, 190, 1992 KD, 61 191, 192, 192, 253 1992 QB1, 233, 234 Alexandra, 59 1993 FW, 234 altitude, 49 1994 JR1, 239, 275 Alvarez, Luis, 258 1999 JU3, 61 Alvarez, Walter, 258 1999 RL95, 183 amino acid, 81 1999 RQ36, 61 ammonia, 223, 301 2000 DP107, 274, 304 amoeboid olivine aggregate, 83 2000 GD65, 205 Amor, 251 2001 QR322, 232 Amor group, 251 2003 EH1, 107 Anacostia, 179 2007 PA8, 207 Anand, Viswanathan, 62 2008 TC3, 264, 265 Angelina, 175 2010 JL88, 205 angrite, 87, 101, 110, 126, 168 2010 TK7, 231 Annefrank, 274, 275, 289 2011 QF99, 232 Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET), 71 2012 DA14, 108 Antarctica, 69–71 2012 VP113, 233, 244 aphelion, 30, 251 2013 TX68, 64 APL, 275, 292 2014 AA, 264, 265 Apohele group, 251 2014 RC, 205 Apollo, 179, 180, 251 Apollo group, 230, 251 absorption band, 135–6, 137–40, 145–50, Apollo mission, 129, 262, 299 163, 184 Apophis, 20, 269, 270 acapulcoite/ lodranite, 87, 90, 103, 110, 168, 285 Aquitania, 179 Achilles, 232 Arecibo Observatory, 206 achondrite, 84, 86, 116, 187 Aristarchus, 29 primitive, 84, 86, 103–4, 287 Asporina, 177 Adamcarolla, 62 asteroid chronology function, 262 Adeona family, 198 Asteroid Zoo, 54 Aeternitas, 177 Astraea, 53 Agnia family, 170, 198 Astronautica, 61 AKARI satellite, 192 Aten, 251 alabandite, 76, 101 Aten group, 251 Alauda family, 198 Atira, 251 albedo, 7, 21, 27, 185–6 Atira group, 251 Bond, 7, 8, 9, 28, 189 atmosphere, 1, 3, 8, 43, 66, 68, 265 geometric, 7 A- type, 163, 165, 167, 169, 170, 177–8, 192 356 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-09684-4 — Asteroids Thomas H.
    [Show full text]
  • Yrfthesis.Pdf
    ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COMETARY NUCLEI Yanga Rolando Fernandez Do ctor of Philosophy Dissertation directed by Professor Michael F AHearn Department of Astronomy I present results on the physical and thermal prop erties of six cometary nuclei This is a signicant increase in the numb er of nuclei for which physical information is available I have used imaging of the thermal continuum at midinfrared and radio wavelengths and of the scattered solar continuum at optical wavelengths to study the eective radius reectivity rotation state and temp erature of these ob jects Traditionally the nucleus has b een dicult to observe owing to an obscuring coma or extreme faintness I have taken advantage of new midinfrared array detectors to observe more comets than were p ossible b efore I have also codevelop ed a technique to separate the coma and nucleus from a comet image I develop ed a simple mo del of the thermal b ehavior of a cometary nucleus to help interpret the thermal ux measurements the mo del is an extension to the Standard Thermal Mo del for aster oids We have enough nuclei now to see the rst demarcations of the cometary region on an alb edodiameter plot I make a comparison of the cometary nuclei with outer Solar System small b o dies and nearEarth asteroids All of the cometary nuclei studied in this thesis are dark with geometric alb edos b elow and have eective diameters of around to km except for comet HaleBopp C O which is in the next order of magnitude higher I give an extensive discussion of the nuclear
    [Show full text]
  • 2005 Astronomy Magazine Index
    2005 Astronomy Magazine Index Subject index flyby of Titan, 2:72–77 Einstein, Albert, 2:30–53 Cassiopeia (constellation), 11:20 See also relativity, theory of Numbers Cassiopeia A (supernova), stellar handwritten manuscript found, 3C 58 (star remnant), pulsar in, 3:24 remains inside, 9:22 12:26 3-inch telescopes, 12:84–89 Cat's Eye Nebula, dying star in, 1:24 Einstein rings, 11:27 87 Sylvia (asteroid), two moons of, Celestron's ExploraScope telescope, Elysium Planitia (on Mars), 5:30 12:33 2:92–94 Enceladus (Saturn's moon), 11:32 2003 UB313, 10:27, 11:68–69 Cepheid luminosities, 1:72 atmosphere of water vapor, 6:22 2004, review of, 1:31–40 Chasma Boreale (on Mars), 7:28 Cassini flyby, 7:62–65, 10:32 25143 (asteroid), 11:27 chonrites, and gamma-ray bursts, 5:30 Eros (asteroid), 11:28 coins, celestial images on, 3:72–73 Eso Chasma (on Mars), 7:28 color filters, 6:67 Espenak, Fred, 2:86–89 A Comet Hale-Bopp, 7:76–79 extrasolar comets, 9:30 Aeolis (on Mars), 3:28 comets extrasolar planets Alba Patera (Martian volcano), 2:28 from beyond solar system, 12:82 first image of, 4:20, 8:26 Aldrin, Buzz, 5:40–45 dust trails of, 12:72–73 first light from, who captured, 7:30 Altair (star), 9:20 evolution of, 9:46–51 newly discovered low-mass planets, Amalthea (Jupiter's moon), 9:28 extrasolar, 9:30 1:68–71 amateur telescopes. See telescopes, Conselice, Christopher, 1:20 smallest, 9:26 amateur constellations whether have diamond layers, 5:26 Andromeda Galaxy (M31), 10:84–89 See also names of specific extraterrestrial life, 4:28–34 disk of stars surrounding, 7:28 constellations eyepieces, telescope.
    [Show full text]
  • (2000) Forging Asteroid-Meteorite Relationships Through Reflectance
    Forging Asteroid-Meteorite Relationships through Reflectance Spectroscopy by Thomas H. Burbine Jr. B.S. Physics Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1988 M.S. Geology and Planetary Science University of Pittsburgh, 1991 SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EARTH, ATMOSPHERIC, AND PLANETARY SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN PLANETARY SCIENCES AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY FEBRUARY 2000 © 2000 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All rights reserved. Signature of Author: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences December 30, 1999 Certified by: Richard P. Binzel Professor of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Thesis Supervisor Accepted by: Ronald G. Prinn MASSACHUSES INSTMUTE Professor of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Department Head JA N 0 1 2000 ARCHIVES LIBRARIES I 3 Forging Asteroid-Meteorite Relationships through Reflectance Spectroscopy by Thomas H. Burbine Jr. Submitted to the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences on December 30, 1999 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Planetary Sciences ABSTRACT Near-infrared spectra (-0.90 to ~1.65 microns) were obtained for 196 main-belt and near-Earth asteroids to determine plausible meteorite parent bodies. These spectra, when coupled with previously obtained visible data, allow for a better determination of asteroid mineralogies. Over half of the observed objects have estimated diameters less than 20 k-m. Many important results were obtained concerning the compositional structure of the asteroid belt. A number of small objects near asteroid 4 Vesta were found to have near-infrared spectra similar to the eucrite and howardite meteorites, which are believed to be derived from Vesta.
    [Show full text]
  • Hered in These Proceedings with the Aim to Keep Track of These Very Interesting Days
    Proceedings of GAIA-FUN-SSO 2014 Third “Gaia Follow-up Network for Solar System Objects” Workshop held at IMCCE/Paris Observatory 2014, November 24 – 26 Institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides Observatoire de Paris Legal Deposite – June 2015 ISBN 2-910015-73-4 Foreword The observation of Solar System Objects (SSO) by the Gaia space astrometry mission will be constrained by a scanning law. Much detection of interesting objects may occur with no possibility of further observations by the probe. These objects will then require complementary ground-based observations. Among them, previously unknown Near- Earth Objects, fast moving towards the Earth or going away from it could be found. Several objects discovered by Gaia could also be Inner-Earth Objects, as the probe will observe at rather low Solar elongations. In order to confirm from the ground the discoveries made in space and to follow interesting targets, a dedicated network is organized, the Gaia Follow-Up Network. This task is performed in the frame of the Coordination Unit 4 of the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC), devoted to data processing of specific objects. The goal of the network is to improve the knowledge of the orbit of poorly observed targets by astrometric observations on alert. This activity is coordinated by a central node interacting with the Gaia data reduction pipeline all along the mission. In 2010 and 2012, we had organized the first two workshops in order to initiate the network and to meet the participants. In 2014, almost one year after the launch of Gaia, we organize the third Gaia-FUN-SSO workshop in Paris in order to discuss further the coordination of the network of observing stations, to discuss the prelaunch training observations which have been performed and to prepare the network for the operating phase of the alert mode which must begin in 2015.
    [Show full text]
  • Astrometry and Spectra Classification of Near Earth Asteroids with Lijiang
    Astronomy and Astrophysics in the Gaia sky Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 330, 2017 A. Recio-Blanco, P. de Laverny, A.G.A. Brown c International Astronomical Union 2018 & T. Prusti, eds. doi:10.1017/S174392131700624X Astrometry and Spectra Classification of Near Earth Asteroids with Lijiang 2.4m Telescope† X. L. Zhang1,2,B.Yang1,2, and J. M. Bai1,2 1 Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650011, China email: [email protected] 2 Key Laboratory of the Structure and Evolution of Celestial Objects, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650011, China Abstract. The Lijiang 2.4m telescope of Yunnan Observatories is located at longitude E100◦0151, latitude N26◦4232 and height 3250m above sea level (IAU code O44). Because of low latitude of the site, long-focus system and planetary tracking mode of telescope, high accuracy posi- tioning and spectral classification of the near Earth objects (NEAs) especially in the Southern Hemisphere can be studied with the Lijiang 2.4m telescope. As a set of observational campaigns organized by the GAIA-FUN-SSO, astrometry of several near Earth asteroids including (367943) Duende and (99942) Apophis were made with Lijiang 2.4m telescope during 2013. From Decem- ber 12, 2015, spectra of three near earth asteroids were also observed with the YFOSC terminal attached to the Lijiang 2.4m telescope. This paper will give the detailed introduction of Lijiaing 2.4m telescope and observational results of near Earth asteroids obtained with it. Keywords. methods: observational, techniques: astrometry, spectrum classification. 1. Introduction Knowledge of asteroids and comets, the relic of planet building blocks, directly sheds light on the formation of terrestrial planets, and the origin and evolution of the Solar System.
    [Show full text]
  • An Innovative Solution to NASA's NEO Impact Threat Mitigation Grand
    Final Technical Report of a NIAC Phase 2 Study December 9, 2014 NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Number: NNX12AQ60G NIAC Phase 2 Study Period: 09/10/2012 – 09/09/2014 An Innovative Solution to NASA’s NEO Impact Threat Mitigation Grand Challenge and Flight Validation Mission Architecture Development PI: Dr. Bong Wie, Vance Coffman Endowed Chair Professor Asteroid Deflection Research Center Department of Aerospace Engineering Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 email: [email protected] (515) 294-3124 Co-I: Brent Barbee, Flight Dynamics Engineer Navigation and Mission Design Branch (Code 595) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 20771 email: [email protected] (301) 286-1837 Graduate Research Assistants: Alan Pitz (M.S. 2012), Brian Kaplinger (Ph.D. 2013), Matt Hawkins (Ph.D. 2013), Tim Winkler (M.S. 2013), Pavithra Premaratne (M.S. 2014), Sam Wagner (Ph.D. 2014), George Vardaxis, Joshua Lyzhoft, and Ben Zimmerman NIAC Program Executive: Dr. John (Jay) Falker NIAC Program Manager: Jason Derleth NIAC Senior Science Advisor: Dr. Ronald Turner NIAC Strategic Partnerships Manager: Katherine Reilly Contents 1 Hypervelocity Asteroid Intercept Vehicle (HAIV) Mission Concept 2 1.1 Introduction ...................................... 2 1.2 Overview of the HAIV Mission Concept ....................... 6 1.3 Enabling Space Technologies for the HAIV Mission . 12 1.3.1 Two-Body HAIV Configuration Design Tradeoffs . 12 1.3.2 Terminal Guidance Sensors/Algorithms . 13 1.3.3 Thermal Protection and Shield Issues . 14 1.3.4 Nuclear Fuzing Mechanisms ......................... 15 2 Planetary Defense Flight Validation (PDFV) Mission Design 17 2.1 The Need for a PDFV Mission ............................ 17 2.2 Preliminary PDFV Mission Design by the MDL of NASA GSFC .
    [Show full text]
  • 1987Aj 93. . 738T the Astronomical Journal
    738T . THE ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL VOLUME 93, NUMBER 3 MARCH 1987 93. DISCOVERY OF M CLASS OBJECTS AMONG THE NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID POPULATION Edward F. TEDEScoa),b) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109 1987AJ Jonathan Gradie20 Planetary Geosciences Division, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 Received 10 September 1986; revised 17 November 1986 ABSTRACT Broadband colorimetry (0.36 to 0.85 ¡um), visual photometry, near-infrared (JHK) photometry, and 10 and 20 /urn radiometry of the near-Earth asteroids 1986 DA and 1986 EB were obtained during March and April 1986. Model radiometric visual geometric albedos of 0.14 + 0.02 and 0.19 + 0.02 and model radiometric diameters of 2.3 + 0.1 and 2.0 + 0.1 km, respectively, (on the IRAS asteroid ther- mal model system described by Lebofsky et al. 1986) were derived from the thermal infrared and visual fluxes. These albedos, together with the colorimetric and (for 1986 DA) near-infrared data, establish that both objects belong to the M taxonomic class, the first of this kind to be recognized among the near-Earth asteroid population. This discovery, together with previous detections of C and S class objects, establishes that all three of the most common main-belt asteroid classes are represented among this population. The similarity in the corrected distribution of taxonomic classes among the 38 Earth- approaching asteroids for which such classes exist is similar to those regions of the main belt between the 3:1 (2.50 AU) and 5:2 (2.82 AU) orbital resonances with Jupiter, suggesting that they have their origins among asteroids in the vicinity of these resonances.
    [Show full text]
  • Observational Investigation of the 2013 Near-Earth Encounter By
    Observational Investigation of the 2013 Near-Earth Encounter by Asteroid (367943) Duende Nicholas A. Moskovitz a, Conor James Benson b, Daniel Scheeres b, Thomas Endicott c, David Polishook d, Richard Binzel e, Francesca DeMeo e, William Ryan f, Eileen Ryan f, Mark Willman g, Carl Hergenrother h, Arie Verveer i, Tim Lister j, Peter Birtwhistle k, Amanda Sickafoose `;e;o, Takahiro Nagayama m, Alan Gilmore n, Pam Kilmartin n, Susan Bennechi o, Scott Sheppard p, Franck Marchis q, Thomas Augusteijn r, Olesja Smirnova r aLowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (U.S.A) bUniversity of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80305 cUniversity of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125 dWeizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl St. Rehovot 7610001, Israel arXiv:1911.00609v1 [astro-ph.EP] 1 Nov 2019 eMassachusetts Institute of Technology, EAPS, Cambridge, MA 02139 f New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801 gInstitute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI 96720 hUniversity of Arizona, LPL, Tucson, AZ 85721 iPerth Observatory, Bickley, WA 6076 (Australia) Preprint submitted to Icarus 5 November 2019 jLas Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Goleta, CA 93117 kGreat Shefford Observatory, Berkshire (England) `South African Astronomical Observatory (South Africa) mKagoshima University (Japan) nUniversity of Canterbury, Mt John University Observatory, Lake Tekapo (New Zealand) oPlanetary Science Institute, 1700 E. Fort Lowell Rd., Tucson, AZ 85719 pDepartment of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015 qSETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, 189 Bernardo Ave., Mountain View CA 94043 rNordic Optical Telescope, La Palma (Spain) Copyright c 2019 Nicholas A. Moskovitz Number of pages: 50 Number of tables: 5 Number of figures: 12 2 Proposed Running Head: The 2013 Near-Earth Encounter of Asteroid Duende Please send Editorial Correspondence to: Nicholas A.
    [Show full text]