The Discovery
On 2016 November 27 at 6:27:07.77(UTC) the NEOWISE project took the first of a series of images of a "new object." A report for this new object was submitted to the
Minor Planet Center(MPC) The "object"(with its observations) was posted to the
NEO Confirmation Page. Observers from four other observatories submitted follow-up observations, and on
2016 November 30, 04:19 (UTC) the MPC issued a
Minor Planet Electronic Circular (
MPEC 2016-W125: 2016 WF9) announcing the
discovery. This object was given the
provisional designation 2016 WF9. This designation tells the world that this asteroid was discovered in the year 2016 during the half-month of November 16-30(W) and it was the 231st(F9) discovery of that half-month.
Follow-up After Discovery
After the MPC had issued The
Minor Planet Electronic Circular announcing the discovery, follow-up observations were made, and
prediscovery observations were found adding up to a total of 61 observations spanning 111 days. Each observations records were in the sky 2016 WF9 was seen from the given location at the given time. Given that asteroid and comets follow the laws of planetary motion and move through the solar system in elliptical orbits each observation eliminates many possibilities of where in the solar system the asteroid can be in the future. Near-Earth Object observational data is generally made available within 24 hours after it is submitted to the MPC. Anyone who has the knowledge and the software can do their own orbit determination. The
available observational data for 2016 WF9 rules out any impact for the foreseeable future. It should also be noted that
observations from other observatories serve as a cross check.
What set 2016 WF9 apart from other Near-Earth Objects is first it has a Tisserand Parameter of 2.893. Most
asteroids have a Tisserand Parameter greater than 3, and m
ost Jupiter Family Comets have a Tisserand Parameter between 2 and 3. In other words, it has a "comet-like" orbit. The second thing about 2016 WF9 is it is rather dark. Given that 2016 WF9 has a "comet-like" orbit and is rather dark lends astronomers to believe it may have cometary origins; however, no cometary activity has been observed yet.
2016 WF9 Comes to the Attention of the General Public
On December 29, 2016, NASA call 2016 WF9 to the attention of the public at large by issuing the press release titled "
NASA's NEOWISE Mission Spies One Comet, Maybe Two." The press release reported information about the comet C/2016 U1 NEOWISE and 2016 WF9 including information on an
unremarkable close-approach and stated: "The trajectory of 2016 WF9 is well understood, and the object is not a threat to Earth for the foreseeable future." In the days that follow this story was picked up by other news outlets, some which blurred the line between
journalism and
creative writing.
Keep in mind 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).
Background
(as of 2017-01-29 )
- Object: 2016 WF9
- Orbit Type: Apollo [NEO] Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (NOTE: this is over hundreds if not thousands of years)
- Approximate Diameter: 270 m - 590 m( 885.827 feet to 1935.696 feet)(Absolute Magnitude: H= 20.2)
- On the Sentry Risk Table: No (Removed ) 2016-12-20 16:00
- On the NEODyS CLOMON2 risk page: No (Removed )
- First(Precovery) Observation was made: 2016 10 10.42213
- First(Precovery) Observed by: Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala (MPC Code F51) The Precovery M.P.E.C.: MPEC 2017-A66 : DAILY ORBIT UPDATE (2017 JAN. 9 UT)
- Discovery (First) observation was made: 2016 11 27.26884
- Discovery (First )observation by: NEOWISE (MPC Code C51)The Discovery M.P.E.C.: MPEC 2016-W125: 2016 WF9
- Last Observation (publish): 2017 01 29.18221 (by LPL/Spacewatch II (MPC Code 291 ) )
- Data-Arc Span (publish): 111 days
- Number of Optical Observations(published): 61
- Observatories Reporting (Published) Observations(MPC Code):
- (291) LPL/Spacewatch II, US/Arizona.
- (474) Mount John Observatory, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand.
- (807) Cerro Tololo Observatory, La Serena, Chile.
- (C51) NEOWISE
- (F51) Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala, US/Hawaii.
- (Q64) Siding Spring-LCOGT B, Australia/NSW.
- (T12) Mauna Kea-UH/Tholen NEO Follow-Up (2.24-m), US/Hawaii.
- Perihelion Distance: 0.9817420310009939(AU)
- Aphelion Distance: 4.759885397693941
- Earth MOID: 0.0145594 AU ( 5.666 (LD)) or 1,353,380.78 miles (2,178,055.239 (KM))
- Next Close-Approach to Earth: Will safely pass Earth on 2017-Feb-25 at a Nominal Distance of 0.340740651006311 (AU) (132.607 (LD)) or 31,673,822.283 miles (50,974,075.848 (KM)) - to put things in perspective "If" the Earth Was the Size of a Basketball this would be ~ 3,126.54 feet (952.97meters) away)
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