Podcaster: Dr. Al Grauer
Title: Travelers in the Night Eps. 803 & 804: Monster NEO & Tracie’s Solo
Organization: Travelers in The Night
Link : Travelers in the Night ; @Nmcanopus
Description: Today’s two stories:
- Since larger space rocks are rare, it was surprising when my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Hannes Groller found a half mile diameter asteroid traveling through the constellation of Auriga. Fortunately on it’s current path 2024 JW1 can’t come closer than 53 lunar distances from us. Asteroid hunters will continue to track 2024 JW1 to make sure that it does not become a threat as it passes near Earth, Mars , and Jupiter.
- After months of training Survey Operations Specialist Tracie Beuden came full circle during her first solo 3 night observing run on the 60 inch telescope as she hosted groups of visitors as the observer instead of the tour guide.
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. 803: Monster NEO
Asteroid hunters have discovered and are keeping track of more than 90% of the Earth approaching space rocks larger than about two-thirds of a mile in diameter. This is a good thing since the impact of such an extremely large space rock is likely to create agricultural, disrupting climate changes worldwide. Since larger space rocks are rare, it was surprising when my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Hannes Groller found a half-mile diameter asteroid traveling through the constellation of Auriga.
For 101 hours after Hannes submitted his discovery observations to the Minor Planet Center, it was tracked by observatories in Arizona, China, Germany, France, Japan, Slovakia, and England to make sure that it poses no immediate threat to our home planet. These data were used to track its 4.3-year-long path about the Sun and give it the name 2024 JW1. According to the Impact Effects Program from the Imperial College of London and Purdue University, a monster space rock like this enters the Earth’s atmosphere once every 450,000 years or so, impacts the surface at 21 miles per second, and can create a crater 7.6 miles in diameter and 2,000 feet deep in sedimentary rock.
85 miles from impact, it would feel like a 7.7 Richter scale earthquake. The air blast would have 199 mile-per-hour winds, most buildings would be destroyed, and 90 percent of the trees would be stripped of their leaves. Fortunately, on its current path, 2024 JW1 can’t come closer than 53 lunar distances from us. Asteroid hunters will continue to track 2024 JW1 to make sure that it does not become a threat as it passes near Earth, Mars, and Jupiter.
Ep. 804: Tracie’s Solo
For years, my new Catalina Sky Survey teammate, Tracie Beuden, brought visitors to the Mount Lemmon Sky Center for tours of our 60-inch telescope on Mount Lemmon, Arizona. After months of training, Tracy came full circle during her first solo three-night observing run on the 60-inch telescope as she hosted groups of visitors as the observer instead of the tour guide. The first two nights of her solo run were plagued by clouds.
On the third night, the universe presented Tracy with the opportunity to discover five new Earth-approaching asteroids. Their orbital paths about the Sun take 1.3 to 4.6 years to negotiate. They are all small, ranging in size from that of a semi-trailer truck to a football field size in diameter.
One of them, 2024 HW1, could at some time in the distant future come to less than 20% of the lunar distance from our home planet. This 60- foot diameter asteroid passes near to both Earth and Mars as it moves along its two-year long path about the Sun. According to the Imperial College of London and Purdue University’s impact calculator, an asteroid the size of 2024 HW1 enters the Earth’s atmosphere once every 31 years or so, begins to break up at an altitude of 215,000 feet, bursts into a cloud of debris at about 91,000 feet, makes a sonic boom about as loud as heavy traffic, creates a light show if it strikes at night, and produces small fragments which could strike the Earth at speeds of 4 miles per second.
This type of event gives asteroid hunters a chance to perfect tracking skills and could provide information to help meteorite hunters find pieces of a space rock.
For Travelers in the Night, this is Dr. Al Grower.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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