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Showing posts with label Blogosphere. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogosphere. Show all posts

Jan 12, 2017

The Earth Got Buzz by the Asteroid 2017 AG13 -- 50% Closer Than The Moon


Artist's concept of a near-Earth object. Image: Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
On  2017 Jan  7  at  7:39:30.24(UTC) the Catalina Sky Survey discovered an asteroid on route to buzz the Earth. They submit their observations to the Minor Planet Center(MPC) and the "object"(with their observations) was posted the NEO Confirmation Page.  Observers from around from the world took follow-up observations and on 2017 Jan  8 at 15:14(UTC) the Minor Planet Electronic Circular announcing the discovery. On 2017 Jan  9 at  ~12:49 (UTC) buzz the Earth at ~  0.5 Lunar Distances (LD) -- to put things in perspective"If" the Earth Was the Size of a Basketball this would be ~ 12.80 feet(3.90 meters)  away.

Background
(as of 2017-01-11 ) 

  • Object: 2017 AG13
  • Orbit Type: Aten [NEO]
  • Approximate Diameter: 16 m - 37 m (52.4934 feet to 121.391 feet)(Absolute Magnitude: H= 26.039)
  • On the Sentry Risk Table: No (Never has been listed )
  • On the NEODyS CLOMON2 risk page: No
  • Discovery (First) observation was made: 2017 01 07.31910
  • Discovery (First )observation by: Catalina Sky Survey, Arizona, USA (MPC Code 703) The Discovery M.P.E.C.: MPEC 2017-A58 : 2017 AG13
  • Last Observation (publish):2 017 01 09.53408 (by Mt. Lemmon Survey (MPC Code G96)  )
  • Data-Arc Span (publish): 2 days
  • Number of Optical Observations(published):70
  • Observatories Reporting (Published) Observations(MPC Code):
    • (204) Schiaparelli Observatory, Italy.
    • (703) Catalina Sky Survey, US/ Arizona.
    • (958) Observatoire de Dax, France.
    • (B49) Paus Observatory, Sabadell, Spain.
    • (C44) A. Volta Observatory, Lanzo d'Intelvi, Italy.
    • (G96) Mt. Lemmon Survey, US/Arizona. 
    • (H21) Astronomical Research Observatory, Westfield, US/Illinois.
    • (I52) Steward Observatory, Mt. Lemmon Station, US/Arizona.
    • (I93) St Pardon de Conques, France.
    • (K65) Cesena, Italy.
    • (W25) RMS Observatory, Cincinnati, US/Ohio.
  • Perihelion Distance:0.5501188546601535 (AU)
  • Aphelion Distance:1.376259329339826 (AU)
  • Earth MOID: 5.66787E-5 AU (0.022 (LD)) or 5,268.614  miles ( 8,479.013 (KM))
  • Last Close-Approach to Earth: Passed the Earth on 2017-Jan-10 at a Nominal Distance of 0.00139468114617598 (AU), ( 0.543 Lunar Distance (LD)), or 129,643.712 miles (208,641.33 (KM)) -- to put things in perspective "If" the Earth Was the Size of a Basketball this would be 12.80 feet(3.90 meters) 
  • Next Close-Approach to Earth:  Will safely pass Earth on 2028-Sep-12 at a Nominal Distance of 0.336749573158621  (AU) (131.053 (LD)) or 31,302,828.42  miles (50,377,019.101(KM))
Useful Links:
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Nov 8, 2016

Information on the Asteroid (35396) 1997 XF11

The Near Earth Object (35396) 1997 XF11 is notable( or notorious) for the fact it became the center of a media firestorm on 11 March 1998 when an IAU Circular and press information sheet incorrectly stated the possibility of it impacting the Earth in 2028. Within a day new calculations where done showing the probability of Earth impact to be essentially zero. However this was after the news media reported the story and old(or incorrect) news stories have away living for long time(this can be a good thing if research is done right). This is why one should aways look for updates when doing any research. Recently this story has made a comeback in blogosphere. To show that (35396) 1997 XF11 is NOT "Being Hidden From the World" I obtain the publicly available orbit and imaged it from AstroCamp Observatory. Nerpio, Spain (MPC Code I89)...and I fond where it should be. Here is the images, background information, and links on (35396) 1997 XF11.


The Near Earth Objects (35396) 1997 XF11 on 2016-11-01 from AstroCamp Observatory. Nerpio, Spain - (MPC Code I89) using itelescope.net's (T7 TEL 0.43-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD) a stack of 4 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images
(C) Steven M. Tilley
The Near Earth Objects (35396) 1997 XF11 on 2016-11-01 from AstroCamp Observatory. Nerpio, Spain - (MPC Code I89)
using itelescope.net's (T7 TEL 0.43-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD) a stack of 4 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images
(C) Steven M. Tilley




Background 

(as of 2016-11-07)

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Oct 10, 2016

The Asteroid 2009 ES Past Safely then Someone Said Something and The Internet Goes Crazy

 Background
(as of 2016-10-10)
The NEO 2009 ES on 2016-09-20 (Astrometrica) a stack of 4 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images taken with iTelescope.net's (TEL T11 0.50-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD + f/4.5 focal reducer) at (MPC Code H06) Mayhill, New Mexico (New Mexico Skies) By Steven M. Tilley
    Tweets(Before Purple Mountain Observatory's Report)



Note before Purple Mountain Observatory's Report 2009 ES just a NEO with well know orbit. Any danger into the foreseeable future from 2009 ES was ruled out on 2009-03-18 10:56(UTC).
Purple Mountain Observatory's Report
 
Then as this story moved through the blogosphere, it changed like the "telephone game." The report was misread, poorly translated, misunderstood, etc. then rewritten by other writers with the wrong information.  Then other writers then use the revised stories as sources for new stories adding to the madness. One should seek out the original story(and see if it is reliable), and check for reliable information from some of the reliable sources such as the Minor Planet Center, NASA NEO Program Office at JPL, ESA's NEODyS (Near Earth Objects Dynamic Site), or The Tracking News.  I am not posting links to the crazy stories, Just Google Asteroid  2009 ES  and see for yourself.
 
    Other links:
Correction: (as of 2016-10-25) was corrected to say (as of 2016-10-10) the date of the post
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Sep 25, 2016

An Asteroid as Entered the Blogosphere… Should I Be Worried?

A commentary by Steven M. Tilley

The Asteroid to Earth "Say out my Way!!!!"
Earth to the Asteroid "Watch where you're going ... fool!!!"
 Image edited by Steven M. Tilley
(Disclaimer --  Earth and
asteroids CAN NOT talk)
 see the original (public domain) image
Planetoid crashing into primordial Earth  at
 Donald Davis' official site
About every few month or so an asteroid makes waves online.  This lead some people to panic. Before anyone panics and does something dumb. One should remember one of the secrets to life, breathe, in and out. Then remember anyone can post anything online. Some sources are better than others when it comes to asteroid information. Sources range from very useful to worse than useless.

First check for reliable information from some of the reliable sources such as the Minor Planet Center, NASA NEO Program Office at JPL, ESA's NEODyS (Near Earth Objects Dynamic Site), or The Tracking News.  The writer of this blog post is aware that are many people in the blogosphere who distrusts one or more of the name reliable sources.  The author suggests that they reexamine their stand. A significant number of individuals and organizations from around the world observe asteroids; these observations serve as a cross check. If someone or a group makes an error, the error would soon come to light with more observations. If there is nothing about the asteroid  from the name from reliable sources most likely, the story probably is wrong. 

Another thing to remember as a story moves through the blogosphere it changes like the "telephone game." The original story is misread, poorly translated, misunderstood, etc. then rewritten by other writers with the wrong information.  Then other writers then use the revised story as a source for new stories adding to the madness. One should seek out the original story(and see if it is reliable).

When reading up ( and writing) about asteroids one should know the limits of one's knowledge base.  Some of bloggers and youtbers out there go way outside of their knowledge base; they think they "know" when they don't  "know."  The problem is many people mistakenly repost "wrong" blog posts(and videos) adding to the madness. Just because something has been shared, many times does not make it true.

It should be stated that no post is complete without a "good" headline and an image to hook readers. Many times the picture is wrong, and the headline is highly misleading.  It takes lots of time to find a picture of the asteroid or use a telescope to image the asteroid in question.  This requirement of time will lead many writers to find any old image of any old asteroid. Many times if the author used a real picture of the asteroid internet users would not click.

Finally one should keep studying about asteroid there so much to know. One should not be afraid seeking good answers to questions. Just look for good sources of information. 
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