Podcaster: Dr. Al Grauer
Title: Travelers in the Night Eps. 789 & 790: Asteroid With A Tail & Vivian’s Debut
Organization: Travelers in The Night
Link : Travelers in the Night ; @Nmcanopus
Description: Today’s two stories:
- My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Josh Hogan was asteroid hunting in the constellation of Taurus with our 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona when he came across a very curious object. It has an orbit like an ordinary main belt asteroid. However, amazingly it has a tail extending some 19,000 miles out from a few mile diameter central object.
- My new Catalina Sky Survey Teammate Vivian Carjaval was scheduled for three 13h long winter nights for her first solo observing run on our Schmidt telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona. As luck would have it she couldn’t observe the first night because of high winds and blowing snow, while on the second night she was treated to lots of clouds under a bright moon, however, on the third night the Universe treated her to a clear night and sent two unknown Earth Approaching asteroids her way.
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:
Ep 788 – Asteroid With A Tail
My Cattling to Sky Survey teammate, Josh Hogan, was asteroid hunting in the constellation of Taurus with our 60-inch telescope on Mount Lemmon, Arizona, when he came across a very curious object. It has an orbit like an ordinary main-belt asteroid. However, amazingly, it has a tail extending some 19,000 miles out from a few-mile-diameter central object.
After Josh reported his observations to the Minor Planet Center, over the next month, this weird object was observed by 18 different observatories around the world. Scientists used these data to calculate its 5.5-year-long orbit about the Sun and give it the name P2023S4 Hogan. Turns out, Hogan’s new comet had been observed a number of times previously on its path between Mars and Jupiter without anyone recognizing that it has a tail.
After Hogan pointed out the tail, it was verified by 5 other observers. P2023S4 Hogan was given a comet name but is been classified as an active asteroid. Astronomers have discovered more than 40 of these strange objects, many of which look like a traditional comet with a coma and a tail.
Some of these active asteroids, or main-belt comets as they are also called, appear to be icy objects. However, others appear to be rocky. Their activity could be caused by a rare collision with another object and or by outgassing as they are warmed by the Sun.
In any event, these strange objects’ chemical composition seems to indicate they formed in the inner solar system rather than in the Kuiper Belt far beyond Pluto. How Josh’s object became active and gained a tail remains to be seen. For Travelers in the Night, this is Dr. Al Grauer. Stay tuned.
Ep 790 – Vivian’s Debut
My new Catalina Sky Survey teammate, Vivian Carvuhal, was scheduled for three 13-hour long winter nights for her first solo observing run on our Schmidt Telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona.
As luck would have it, she couldn’t observe the first night because of high winds and blowing snow, while on the second night she was treated to lots of clouds under a bright moon. However, on the third night, the universe treated her to a clear night and sent two unknown Earth-approaching asteroids her way. The first of Vivian’s discoveries is 2024 BJ3, whose diameter is less than that of an NBA basketball court.
It orbits the Sun on a 2.88-year-long path that crosses the orbits of Venus, Earth, and Mars and will likely collide with one of them in the far distant future. Vivian’s second discovery, 2024 BR4, is about two football fields in size, orbits the Sun in about a year, and can come to about 12 times the lunar distance from our home planet. According to the Earth Impact Effects Program by the Imperial College of London and Purdue University, an object the size of 2024 BR4 impacts Earth once every 16,000 years or so, breaks up at an altitude of 221,000 feet and would make a crater a mile wide and 1,200 feet deep in sedimentary rock.
Ten miles from impact, up to 90% of the trees would be blown down, wood-framed buildings would collapse, glass windows would shatter, and multi-story buildings would suffer severe damage. To make sure that this never happens, asteroid hunters will continue to monitor 2024 BR4 to make sure it continues to pose no danger to Earth. For Travelers in the Night, this is Dr. Al Grauer. Stay tuned.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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