Travelers In The Night

To give you an idea of the celestial traffic in our neighborhood, on a recent clear night, using our 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona, my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Hannes Groller posted 20 new objects on the Minor Planet Center's Near Earth Object Confirmation Page. In the future five of these asteroids may become a valuable source of raw materials for Martian colonists.

A small asteroid's path around the Sun very nearly crosses that of Earth.

In the fictional Star Trek series, Vulcan, Spock's home planet was imagined to orbit the A component of the triple star system 40 Eridani [Eri-dani ]. Recently astronomers using the Dharma Planet Survey 50 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona have discovered that there is indeed an actual planet, named HD26965 b, with mass of 8.5 times that of Earth orbiting the star 40 Eridani A once every 42.38 days.

Unknown large dangerous Earth approaching asteroids are still out there

Recently my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Carson Fuls discovered his third comet, Comet C/2018 R4 (Fuls). It is now on its way back into deep space. Given the climate change Earth is experiencing it is hard to predict the state of our planet and humanity when Comet Fuls returns in 7,500 AD.

Earth approaching asteroids are found by their motion in the sky.

Asteroid Hunters keep careful track of nearly 2,000 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids [PHAs] to make sure that they are no threat to humanity. The recent discovery of two new PHAs reminds us that there are many still out there to be discovered and followed.

An Earth approaching asteroid is found to triple in brightness every 9 minutes.

A small space rock is spotted 4 days before it came very close to the Earth and our Moon.

A rapidly spinning asteroid comes close to both the Earth and our Moon.

What asteroid hunters fear is that a small space rock capable of injuring people and damaging buildings is heading our way and that we will not find it in time to give a warning for people in the impact area to seek cover.

The giant planet Jupiter has its own family of comets orbiting our Sun.

The NASA Mars Opportunity Rover, nicked named Oppy by those who operate and love it ,was designed to last 90 days on the Martian surface but has continued to explore the surface of the red planet for 14 years.

A dozen Earth approaching asteroid candidates are discovered in a single night.

Although small space rocks pose no threat to humans, they are an interesting part of our environment, offer a chance for asteroid hunters to develop their tracking skills, and occasionally provide an opportunity for a meteorite hunter to touch an object from outer space.

A potentially hazardous dead comet makes a close approach to Earth

Asteroid hunters were able to discover a small Earth approaching asteroid after 57 nights of continuous rain and clouds.

Humans have discovered oceans of liquid salty water on four small worlds in our solar system. Could living things be flourishing in these alien environments?

The fireball meteor streaking across the sky the early evening of January 17, 2018, witnessed by 700 observers in 11 States and Canada was also recorded by infrasonic microphones and seismometers. Scientific studies of this event gives researchers the ability to assess the risks presented by the 2,000 large fireball meteor explosions which occur each year world wide and will allow scientists to detect any secret nuclear tests being conducted by rogue individuals or governments.

All life has a common core which can guide our search for life outside of our planet.