Podcaster: Dr. Al Grauer
Title: Travelers in the Night Eps. 517 & 518: Close Again & Busy Night
Organization: Travelers in The Night
Link : Travelers in the Night ; @Nmcanopus
Description: Today’s 2 topics:
- Greg Leonard found 50′ diameter 2018 VO5, which came less than 1/2 LD or Lunar Distance from Earth.
- On Halloween night 2018, I discovered 21 space rocks streaking through the night sky.
Bio: Dr. Al Grauer is currently an observing member of the Catalina Sky Survey Team at the University of Arizona. This group has discovered nearly half of the Earth approaching objects known to exist. He received a PhD in Physics in 1971 and has been an observational Astronomer for 43 years. He retired as a University Professor after 39 years of interacting with students. He has conducted research projects using telescopes in Arizona, Chile, Australia, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Georgia with funding from NSF and NASA.
He is noted as Co-discoverer of comet P/2010 TO20 Linear-Grauer, Discoverer of comet C/2009 U5 Grauer and has asteroid 18871 Grauer named for him.
Today’s sponsor: Big thanks to our Patreon supporters this month: Dustin A Ruoff, Brett Duane, Kim Hay, Nik Whitehead, Timo Sievänen, Michael Freedman, Paul Fischer, Rani Bush, Karl Bewley, Joko Danar, Steven Emert, Frank Tippin, Steven Jansen, Barbara Geier, Don Swartwout, James K. Wood, Katrina Ince, Michael Lewinger, Phyllis Simon Foster, Nicolo DePierro.
Please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org.
Or please visit our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy
Transcript:
517: Close Again
Recently Catalina Sky Survey teammate Greg Leonard found yet another another very close approaching space rock while asteroid hunting in the constellation of Taurus with our 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona. For the next 39 hours, astronomers at 13 observatories around the world tracked Greg’s discovery. These data allowed scientists at the Minor Planet Center to calculate its 3.62 year long path about the Sun, estimate its diameter to be 50 feet, and give it the name 2018 VO5. Turns out that approximately 4.5 hours before coming to less than half the Moon’s distance from humanity this 50 foot space rock had passed less than a lunar distance from our Moon.
Asteroid hunters are learning that small space rocks like 2018 VO5 routinely pass near Earth. According to the Purdue University and Imperial College of London’s Impact calculator, a space rock the size of 2018 VO5 enters our atmosphere about once every 16 years releasing an energy 0f 190 tons of TNT, explodes at an altitude of 102,000 feet, produces an extremely bright fireball, and makes a sonic boom.
Much smaller space rocks frequently enter our atmosphere. The American Meteor Society accepts and logs the more than 5000 smaller fireball events that occur every year. As asteroid hunters equipment and skills continue to improve we will be able to find and track some of these tiny impactors and perhaps be able to suggest where to find pieces of one of them on the ground.
518 – Busy Night
On Halloween night while observing with the Catalina Sky Survey’s 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona I discovered 21 space rocks streaking through the night sky. Ten of them turned out to be Earth approaching asteroids, five are other interesting asteroids, and six were lost when bad weather made it impossible to track them long enough to be able to identify them in the future. Perhaps the most interesting of the lot is 2018 VC, a 60 foot diameter space rock, which makes frequent close approaches to Earth on its 437 day path about the Sun. Even better its speed relative to Earth makes it possible for a Falcon Heavy rocket to launch a sizable robotic spacecraft to visit it and to return to Earth orbit in less than a year.
About 5 % of the meteorites on the Earth’s surface are irons or stony irons containing substantial amounts of iron. If 2018 VC were to have the chemical composition of a stony iron meteorite it would contain more than 10,000 metric tons of iron, a valuable commodity which humans could use to build colonies in space. Before embarking on such a mission is necessary to determine the surface composition of such a distant asteroid by measuring the pattern in the colors of light it reflects from the Sun. This effort requires time on a relatively large telescope to systematically study every small asteroid that comes near to us. If this sounds like complete science fiction consider the fact that both the US and Japan currently have spacecraft visiting asteroids.
For Travelers in the Night this is Dr. Al Grauer
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
=====================
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Planetary Science Institute. Audio post-production by Richard Drumm. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes.
This show is made possible thanks to the generous donations of people like you! Please consider supporting to our show on Patreon.com/365DaysofAstronomy and get access to bonus content.
After 10 years, the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast is entering its second decade of sharing important milestone in space exploration and astronomy discoveries. Join us and share your story. Until tomorrow! Goodbye!