Travelers In The Night

The human thirst for knowledge about our mysterious next door neighbor is about to receive more than a sip from robotic emissaries launched in 2020. Recently a group of scientists point out that by having astronauts fly by Venus on their way to Mars and/or on their way back to Earth would save fuel, weight, and cost and allow humans to return home after only a month long stay on the red planet. Additionally when the crew is near Venus they would be able to pilot drones in the Venusian atmosphere and to study a world where global warming has fundamentally changed our sister planet.

It appears that the human population is at more at risk from smaller rather than larger Earth impacting asteroids.During the past 20 years more than 550 small asteroids ranging in size from 3 to 60 feet in diameter have entered the Earth's atmosphere. They had impact energies ranging from 5 to 500,000 tons of TNT. Newly released data show that most of them exploded high above the ground doing little or no damage at the surface.

My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Hannes Groeller was observing in the constellation of Boötes with our 60 telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona when he discovered a potentially hazardous asteroid which had evaded being spotted by the asteroid hunting community on four previous occasions.

Every month we discover small asteroids which come closer than the Moon. There are probably 20 million asteroids in this size range which come near the Earth. A few of these may eventually impact our planet. Those that do are likely to explode high in the atmosphere producing a supersonic boom. We are not more likely to be hit by a small asteroid than we have in the past. However, we are becoming more likely to be able to provide a tornado like warning for people in the affected area to stay away from doors and windows.

If we don't place some new space weather observing satellites into orbit it is possible that you will wake up one day to no electricity, no cell phone, no way to pump gas, and no way to pay for things with a credit card.

Recently my, University of Arizona, Catalina Sky Survey, teammate, Jess Johnson, was searching for Earth Approaching asteroids when he discovered a faint slow moving object in the night sky. Six nights of followup observations revealed that this new object's path is out near the planet Neptune. It takes approximately 173 years for it to travel once about the Sun so it will take observations over the next few years to pin down its orbit. With a diameter of approximately 43 miles it is much larger than the Earth approaching objects we normally encounter.

If the current trend in 11 year solar cycles for the past 50 years continues, we can expect lower than average solar activity and the Earth will continue to receive less than average amounts of solar energy over the next decade. Don't expect lower levels of solar radiation to save us from global temperature increases caused by humans dumping vast amount of carbon dioxide and other green house gases into our atmosphere.

Many scientists have been started on their career paths by an interest in astronomy and the mysteries of space. As technology has developed it has become more difficult for students to be involved in hands-on scientific research. Target Asteroids provides an opportunity for students to participate in real scientific research and to have a chance to discover and name an asteroid.

My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Teddy Pruyne was asteroid hunting in the constellation of Pegasus with our Schmidt telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona when he discovered an unusually bright new comet. Since astronomers have observed this comet for less than two months it is not possible to know if it will come back in thousands years or continue its lonely journey till the end of time.

Comet Blanpain was discovered in 1819 and was described as having a small confused nucleus. It was lost a few months after its discovery and pronounced dead. It 1956 a meteor outburst was observed by the crew of a Japanese expedition ship on its way to the Antarctic. This intense meteor shower seemed to be unrelated to any other and became known as the phantom meteor shower. More than a decade ago, Catalina Sky Survey observers discovered what appeared to be an unknown Earth approaching asteroid, 2003 WY25. Recently these seemingly unconnected observations have been shown in all likelihood to be manifestations of the same object.

Asteroid hunters have discovered that the Earth encounters many tiny asteroids as it zips around the Sun at 67,000 miles per hour. Recently my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Hannes Growler discovered an approximately 15 foot diameter space rock, now named 2020 JJ, about 6 hours before it came to within 4,400 miles of the Earth's surface over the Pacific Ocean.

How often do you traveled 5, 10, or more miles on a shopping trip? If instead of traveling on the Earth's surface you were to travel 6 miles straight up, to the realm of the jet airliner, you would likely need oxygen to stay conscious. At an altitude of 12 miles you would need a space suit to stay alive. Several groups have reached an altitude of 24 miles using cameras attached to unmanned weather balloons with budgets of less than $1,000. At this height their cameras were above 99% of the Earth's atmosphere.

It has been traditional for an asteroid to be named by its discoverer. The 1990s were the golden age for private individuals as computerized telescopes and electronic cameras became affordable and readily available. The number of catalogued asteroids increased slowly and by 1999 there were approximately 20,000 of them. During the next 15 years this number has increased nearly 50 times as the large surveys have come into operation. This has made it difficult but not impossible for amateurs and students to discover and name asteroids using their own equipment.

Due to thoughtless outdoor night lighting on the surface and satellites in space the natural night sky is becoming a vanishing treasure. From climate change to saving our natural night sky we must join together to prevent the thoughtless use of technology from damaging our environment.

My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Richard Kowalski has discovered an Earth approaching comet that comes within 18 million miles of our home planet. It orbits the Sun every 5 and a half years on a path that takes it from a point between the Earth and Mars out to near the planet Jupiter. Even though it is unlikely to become a bright naked eye comet or a threat to us, its discovery alerts us to the fact that there are objects like this out there.

One of the perks of being an asteroid hunter is to discover a comet and have it carry your name. Teddy's first comet discovery is a member of a group of approximately 200 such small comets which circle the Sun with orbital periods of less than 20 years and whose paths are ruled by the largest planet in our solar system

Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Its not Superman, its a meteoroid. Yes, a volleyball sized stoney meteoroid, which is typically traveling 15 to 60 times faster than a high powered rifle bullet, has 8 times the kinetic energy of a passenger diesel electric locomotive traveling at 100 miles per hour.

See Climate Change! Noctilucent Clouds exist at more than 50 miles above the Earth's surface or about 4 times higher than the tops of the most intense tropical thunder storms. Climate change has caused these once very rare clouds to become a common occurrence.

Recently I was observing with the NASA funded Catalina Sky Survey 60 inch on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona when I discovered a 200 foot diameter asteroid, 2014 SC324. It is in an orbit around the Sun which takes it from inside our planet's path to 60% of the way to Jupiter. This is an unusual Earth approaching space rock in that it gets bright enough to be imaged with a small telescope equipped with an electronic camera.