Confirmation Images of the Asteroid 2016 UZ106

 Background

(as of 2016-11-04)

• Object: 2016 UZ106 
• Approximate Diameter: 1 km - 2 km  (688.976  feet to 1541.99 feet)(Absolute Magnitude:  H= 17.5 )
• Orbit Type:  Inner Main-belt Asteroid [Hungaria]

A confirmation image of the hungaria asteroid 2016 UZ106  

on the night of 2016-11-02 from AstroCamp Observatory. Nerpio, Spain - (MPC Code I89) 

using itelescope.net's (t18 TEL 0.32-m f/8.0 reflector + CCD) 

a stack of 7 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images 

(C) Steven M. Tilley

A confirmation image of the hungaria asteroid 2016 UZ106  
on the night of 2016-11-02 from AstroCamp Observatory. Nerpio, Spain - (MPC Code I89) 
using itelescope.net's (t18 TEL 0.32-m f/8.0 reflector + CCD) 
a stack of 7 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images 
(C) Steven M. Tilley

A confirmation image of the hungaria asteroid 2016 UZ106  
on the night of 2016-11-02 from AstroCamp Observatory. Nerpio, Spain - (MPC Code I89) 
using itelescope.net's (t18 TEL 0.32-m f/8.0 reflector + CCD) 
a stack of 7 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images 
(C) Steven M. Tilley

A confirmation image of the hungaria asteroid 2016 UZ106  
on the night of 2016-11-02 from AstroCamp Observatory. Nerpio, Spain - (MPC Code I89) 
using itelescope.net's (t18 TEL 0.32-m f/8.0 reflector + CCD) 
a stack of 21 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images 
(C) Steven M. Tilley

A confirmation image of the hungaria asteroid 2016 UZ106  

on the night of 2016-11-03 from from Siding Spring Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia. (MPC Q62)

using itelescope.net's (T32 TEL 0.43-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD)

 a stack of 10 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images 

(C) Steven M. Tilley

A confirmation image of the hungaria asteroid 2016 UZ106  
on the night of 2016-11-03 from from Siding Spring Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia. (MPC Q62)
using itelescope.net's (T32 TEL 0.43-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD)
 a stack of 10 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images 
(C) Steven M. Tilley

A confirmation image of the hungaria asteroid 2016 UZ106  
on the night of 2016-11-03 from from Siding Spring Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia. (MPC Q62)
using itelescope.net's (T32 TEL 0.43-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD)
 a stack of 10 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images 
(C) Steven M. Tilley

Other links:

• (MPC) Observations 2016 UZ106  
• JPL Orbit Diagram 2016 UZ106  
• The NEO Confirmation Page(MPC) 
•  Practical guide on how to observe NEOCP object  by Birtwhistle et al.
• Asteroid-Meteorite Connections in the Hungaria Background Population
• Spratt, Christopher E. (April 1990). "The Hungaria group of minor planets". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 84 (2): 123–131. Bibcode:1990JRASC..84..123S

15 000 space rocks and counting

The international effort to find, confirm and catalogue the multitude of asteroids that pose a threat to our planet has reached a milestone: 15,000 discovered – with many more to go. For Infomation see 15 000 space rocks and counting,Catalog of Known Near-Earth Asteroids Tops 15,000

A Confirmation Image of The NEO 2016 UE On 2016-10-20

A confirmation image of the Near-Earth Object 2016 UE
on 2016-10-20 from Siding Spring Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia. (MPC Q62)
 a stack of 4 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images taken with iTelescope.net's
(TEL T27 0.70-m f/6.6 reflector + CCD) (C) Steven M. Tilley



See:

• MPEC 2016-U25 : 2016 UE
• JPL Orbit Diagram 2016 UE 

Confirmation of the comet C/2016 T1 (Matheny)

 Background

(as of 2016-10-13)

•  Object:  Comet C/2016 T1 (Matheny)
• Absolute Magnitude: M1= 13.0 
• Orbit Type: Parabolic Comet
• First Observed was made on: 2016 10 06.09330
• First Observed  By: Rose Matheny at Mt. Lemmon Survey, Arizona, USA (MPC Code G96)  
• The Discovery M.P.E.C.: MPEC 2016-T117: COMET C/2016 T1 (Matheny) 
• The Discovery CBET: 4328: 20161011 : COMET C/2016 T1 (MATHENY)
• Last Observed(publish):2016 10 11.82329 (by Bernezzo Observatory, Italy.(MPC Code C77))
• Data-Arc Span(publish) : 5 days
• Number of Observations(published): 93
• Perihelion Distance:  2.319492699700049 (AU)

 

A confirmation image of the comet C/2016 T1 (Matheny)
on 2016-10-07 from AstroCamp Observatory. Nerpio, Spain - (MPC Code I89)
 a stack of 50 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images using
 itelescope.net's (t18 TEL 0.32-m f/8.0 reflector + CCD)
(C) Steven M. Tilley

A confirmation image of the comet C/2016 T1 (Matheny) 
on 2016-10-07 from Auberry California USA - (MPC Code U69) 
a stack of 53 - 60 Second Luminance BIN2 Images using 
itelescope.net's (t24 TEL 0.61-m f/6.5 reflector + CCD) 
(C) Steven M. Tilley

Other links: 

• (MPC) Observations COMET C/2016 T1 (Matheny)
• JPL Orbit Diagram Comet C/2016 T1 (Matheny)
• The Tracking News
• Speed of Light - Space - Distance Calculator
• The Possible Comet Confirmation Page 

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

 Background

(as of 2016-10-10)

•  Object:  2009 ES 
• Approximate Diameter: 210  m - 470 m (688.976  feet to 1541.99 feet)(Absolute Magnitude:  H= 20.5 ) --(NOT 10 km)
• Orbit Type: Apollo [NEO]  Potentially Hazardous Asteroid
• On the Sentry Risk Table:  No  Removed on  2009-03-18 10:56  
• On the NEODyS CLOMON2 risk page: No  Removed see The Tracking News(Wednesday, 18 March 2009) 
• First Observed was made on: 2009 03 02.21182
• First Observed  By: Mt. Lemmon Survey, Arizona, USA (MPC Code G96) The Discovery M.P.E.C.: MPEC 2009-E19 : 2009 ES see The Tracking News(Tuesday, 3 March 2009) 
• Last Observed(publish):2016 10 06.09155 (by Arkansas Sky Obs., Petit Jean Mountain South (MPC Code H45))
• Data-Arc Span(publish) : 2775 days (7.60 yr)
• Number of Observations(published): 166
• Observatories Reporting Observations(published):
• Arkansas Sky Obs., Petit Jean Mountain South, Arkansas, USA
• Castelmartini, Italy.
• Cerro Tololo Observatory, La Serena, Chile. 
• Eschenberg Observatory, Winterthur, Switzerland.
• Fabra Observatory, Barcelona, Spain.
• Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA
• Klet Observatory-KLENOT, Czech Republic.
• Kyiv comet station, Ukraine.
• LPL/Spacewatch II, Arizona, USA
• Mount John Observatory, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand.
• Mt. Lemmon Survey, Arizona, USA
• Magdalena Ridge Observatory, Socorro  New Mexico, US
• Observatorio Tesla, Valdemorillo, Spain.
• Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala,  Hawaii, USA
• SONEAR Observatory, Oliveira, Brazil.
• Schiaparelli Observatory, Italy.
• Sternwarte Mirasteilas, Falera, Switzerland.
• Perihelion Distance: 0.9619118307549718(AU)
• Aphelion Distance: 1.907532258830227(AU)
• Earth MOID:  0.0390574 AU (15.2 (LD)) or 3,630,612.147 miles (5,842,903.875(KM))
• Last Close-Approach to Earth:  Passed the Earth on 2016-Sep-05 at a Nominal Distance of 0.0483771077875026 (AU), (18.827 Lunar Distance (LD)), or 4,496,933.108 miles (7,237,112.315 (KM))
• Next Close-Approach to Mars: Will pass Mars on 2017-Oct-18 at Nominal Distance of 0.00457422070311273 (AU) (1.78(LD)) or 425,200.378 miles (684,293.677(KM))
• Next Close-Approach to Earth: Will safely pass Earth on 2028-Sep-18 at Nominal Distance of 0.323012120161073 (AU) (125.707(LD)) or 30,025,852.387 miles (48,321,925.383 (KM))

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)

Asteroid Earth Impact - 5-Day Forecast:

ALL CLEAR!

With Occasional Earth Flybys pic.twitter.com/Csz50RHsKY

— Ron Baalke (@RonBaalke) September 3, 2016

A large ~350-meter asteroid, 2009 ES, passes safely by the Earth today (19 Lunar Distance) pic.twitter.com/KPhIpnCFWN

— Ron Baalke (@RonBaalke) September 5, 2016

Asteroid 2009 ES flyby in ~ 30 mins (Sep 5 at 19:24 UT). Dist: 18.83 LD. Size: 150-470 m. https://t.co/Ox8KTKqbmm

— Minor Planet Center (@MinorPlanetCtr) September 5, 2016

asteroid (2009 ES) missed earth by 19 lunar distances: diameter ~340 m, velocity 18.06 km/s, energy ~2 gigatons. https://t.co/tGkAZRSqPP

— Asteroids and Comets (@AsteroidMisses) September 5, 2016

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

No panic! China telescope captures images of Earth-approaching asteroid for 1st time https://t.co/atY8QJ4rWB pic.twitter.com/wWzEcAPnkY

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) September 8, 2016

Telescope at Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing captured images of #asteroid 2009ES approaching Earth. #Jiangsu pic.twitter.com/FixXW16B9C

— Jiangsu China (@loveJiangsu) September 9, 2016

 

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:

• Space Situational Awareness(ESA)  2009 ES
• Near Earth Objects Dynamic Site--2009 ES
• (MPC) Observations 2009 ES 
• JPL Orbit Diagram 2009 ES 
• NEO Earth Close Approaches (JPL)
• MPC Asteroid Data Explorer(Asteroid: 2009 ES)
• The Tracking News 
• NEO Coordination Centre 
• Speed of Light - Space - Distance Calculator
• Asteroid Hazards: The View from Space(MPC) 
• Understanding Risk Pages By Jon Giorgini
•  An Asteroid as Entered the Blogosphere… Should I Be Worried? A commentary by Steven M. Tilley
•  Don’t fear apocalyptic asteroids: you’re safer than you think 

Correction: (as of 2016-10-25) was corrected to say (as of 2016-10-10) the date of the post

Confirmation of the Near-Earth Object 2016 TJ17

Confirmation image of the Near-Earth Object 2016 TJ17 (absolute magnitude =25.4 ~28m) 
on 2016-10-08 a stack of 9-60 second luminance BIN2 taken 
with iTelescope.net's (T17 TEL 0.43-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD) 
at Observatory: Siding Spring - Australia (MPC code Q62)
By Steven M. Tilley

 

 Background

(as of 2016-10-09)

•  Object:  2016 TJ17
• Approximate Diameter: 22 m - 160.761 m(72.1785 feet to 1541.99 feet)( Absolute Magnitude:  H= 25.409 )
• Orbit Type: Apollo [NEO]
• On the Sentry Risk Table:  No  (Never has been listed )
• On the NEODyS CLOMON2 risk page: No 
• First Observed was made on: 2016 10 06.27431
• First Observed  By: Catalina Sky Survey, Arizona,USA (MPC Code 703) The Discovery M.P.E.C.: MPEC 2016-T82 : 2016 TJ17 see The Tracking News(Saturday, 8 October 2016) 
• Last Observed(publish):2016 10 09.26048
• Data-Arc Span(publish) : 3 days
  
•  Number of Observations(publish): 58
• Perihelion Distance:  0.7816366260606531
• Aphelion Distance: 3.537812747373569
• Earth MOID:   0.00117955(0.459 (LD)) 109,646.022 or miles (176,458.168 (KM))
• Last Close-Approach to Earth:  Passed the Earth on  at a Nominal Distance of 0.0031372716407202  (AU), (1.221Lunar Distance (LD)), or 291,627.618 miles ( 469,329.157(KM))

    Other links:

• Space Situational Awareness(ESA)  2016 TJ17
• Near Earth Objects Dynamic Site--2016 TJ17
• (MPC) Observations 2016 TJ17 
• JPL Orbit Diagram 2009 ES 
• NEO Earth Close Approaches (JPL)
• The Tracking News 
• NEO Coordination Centre 
• Speed of Light - Space - Distance Calculator
• Asteroid Hazards: The View from Space(MPC) 
• Understanding Risk Pages By Jon Giorgini
•  An Asteroid as Entered the Blogosphere… Should I Be Worried? A commentary by Steven M. Tilley
•  Don’t fear apocalyptic asteroids: you’re safer than you think 
• The NEO Confirmation Page(MPC) 
•  Practical guide on how to observe NEOCP object  by Birtwhistle et al.

Asteroid 2009 ES Fact Sheet

 Background

(as of 2016-09-25)

 

•  Object:  2009 ES 
• Approximate Diameter: 210  m - 470 m (688.976  feet to 1541.99 feet)( Absolute Magnitude:  H= 20.5 )
• Orbit Type: Apollo [NEO]  Potentially Hazardous Asteroid
• On the Sentry Risk Table:  No  Removed on  2009-03-18 10:56  
• On the NEODyS CLOMON2 risk page: No  Removed see The Tracking News(Wednesday, 18 March 2009) 
• First Observed was made on: 2009 03 02.21182
• First Observed  By: Mt. Lemmon Survey,Arizona,USA (MPC Code G96) The Discovery M.P.E.C.: MPEC 2009-E19 : 2009 ES see The Tracking News(Tuesday, 3 March 2009) 
• Last Observed(publish):2016 09 24.18217 (by Arkansas Sky Obs., Petit Jean Mountain South (MPC Code H45))
• Data-Arc Span(publish) : 2763 days (7.56 yr)
  
•  Number of Observations(publish): 138
• Perihelion Distance: 0.9619118486089225(AU)
• Aphelion Distance: 1.907532243973262(AU)
• Earth MOID:  0.0390574 AU (15.2 (LD)) or 3,630,612.147 miles (5,842,903.875(KM))
• Last Close-Approach to Earth:   Passed the Earth on 2016-Sep-05 at a Nominal Distance of 0.0483771389748092 (AU), (18.827 Lunar Distance (LD)), or 4,496,936.007 miles (7,237,116.981 (KM))
• Next Close-Approach to Mars: Will pass Mars on 2017-Oct-18 at Nominal Distance of 0.00457425454370645 (AU) (1.78(LD)) or 425,203.524 miles (684,298.74 (KM))
• Next Close-Approach to Earth: Will safely pass Earth on 2028-Sep-18 at Nominal Distance of 0.323011688169902 (AU) (125.707(LD)) or 30,025,812.231 miles (48,321,860.759 (KM))

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

 Other links:

• Near Earth Objects Dynamic Site--2009 ES
• (MPC) Observations 2009 ES 
• JPL Orbit Diagram 2009 ES 
• NEO Earth Close Approaches (JPL)
• MPC Asteroid Data Explorer(Asteroid: 2009 ES)
• The Tracking News 
• NEO Coordination Centre 
• Speed of Light - Space - Distance Calculator
• Asteroid Hazards: The View from Space(MPC) 
• Understanding Risk Pages By Jon Giorgini
•  An Asteroid as Entered the Blogosphere… Should I Be Worried? A commentary by Steven M. Tilley
•  Don’t fear apocalyptic asteroids: you’re safer than you think

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.