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Podcaster: Dr. Al Grauer

travelers-in-the-night

Title: Travelers in the Night  753 & 754: Impactor Lights Up the Night Sky & Very Fast Moving Object in the Night Sky

Organization: Travelers in The Night

Link : Travelers in the Night ; @Nmcanopus

Description: Today’s two stroy:

  • One meter diameter 2022 WJ1 holds the record as the smallest asteroid ever detected! It even hit the ground as it entered Earth’s atmosphere.
  • – Very small fast moving asteroids pass through our solar system.About once a month an object like 2023 KU4 enters our atmosphere, releases the energy of approximately 2.4 tons of TNT, explodes at an altitude of about 280,000 feet, creates a spectacular light show, produces a sonic boom that is barely audible, and rains pieces of itself on the ground for meteorite hunters to discover. Check out the fireball log on the American Meteor Society website for examples.

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.

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Transcript:

For Travelers in the Night this is Dr. Al Grauer.

365 Days of Astronomy
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