Completed Tasks - (Grade):
1. Make list of top ten candidate asteroids and why they're interesting/post on blog - (D-)
2. Take one practice observation of an asteroid/try to get pictures of 1999 AQ10/try every day for a week if necessary - (D)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Simulating the Earth's Orbit
Here's the rough template that will serve as the basis for our Earth-Sun-asteroid orbital computations:
Crider2.py
Crider2.py
Friday, February 20, 2009
"Bright" vs "Faint" Asteroids in MPC
The Minor Planet Center has lists of recovery opportunities for bright (V<21) and faint (21custom list.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Spring 2009: Asteroid List
Here is the list I put together of the asteroids to keep an eye on this semester.
List of Interesting Asteroids:
- Toutatis (4179) –
o On September 29, 2004, Toutatis will passed by Earth at a range of four times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, the closest approach of any known asteroid or comet between then and 2060. One consequence of the asteroid's frequent close approaches to Earth is that its trajectory more than several centuries from now cannot be predicted accurately. In fact, of all the Earth-crossing asteroids, the orbit of Toutatis is thought to be one of the most chaotic.
- 1999 AQ10 –
o Will pass 0.0117 AU (4.6 LD) from Earth on February 18th, 2009. Its very close approach to Earth should alter its orbit and make it something interesting to look at/calculate.
- 1994 CC –
o Will pass 0.0170 AU (6.6 LD) from Earth on June 10th, 2009. Its very close approach to Earth should alter its orbit and make it something interesting to look at/calculate.
- Apophis (99942) –
o On Friday, April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass Earth within the orbits of geosynchronous communication satellites. Although its chance of impact has been reduced to a negligible probability, there probably aren’t many more asteroids that more orbital data exists for. This may make it interesting to observe and compare my data with.
- 2007 TU24 –
o Passed closer to Earth last year (1.4 LD) than any asteroid is known to pass Earth until 2027. Its orbit could be of interest because some believe it to be a “rubble pile” asteroid. It could be cool to see how its composition affects its orbit and compares to that of other asteroids.
- 2001 FE90
o Will pass 0.0180 AU (7.0 LD) from Earth on June 28th, 2009. It could be as big as 650 m in diameter.
- 2009 CV
o Will pass 0.0124 AU (64.8 LD) from Earth on February 23th, 2009. It is passing very close to us but is only estimated to be about 90 m in diameter. It may be interesting to look at the orbit of an asteroids of its size, though.
- 1998 OR2
o The largest asteroid that is making a close approach in the near future. It is about 4.4 km in diameter and will miss us by 70 LD on March 12.
- 2003 QO104
o Another very large asteroid (4.2 km diameter( like 1998 OR2, that will miss us by about half the distance (37 LD) on June 9.
- 161989 Cacus
o An asteroid that’s been discovered for some time and should have precise orbital information. It is 2.2 km in diameter, and will miss Earth by 71 LD on March 7.
List of Interesting Asteroids:
- Toutatis (4179) –
o On September 29, 2004, Toutatis will passed by Earth at a range of four times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, the closest approach of any known asteroid or comet between then and 2060. One consequence of the asteroid's frequent close approaches to Earth is that its trajectory more than several centuries from now cannot be predicted accurately. In fact, of all the Earth-crossing asteroids, the orbit of Toutatis is thought to be one of the most chaotic.
- 1999 AQ10 –
o Will pass 0.0117 AU (4.6 LD) from Earth on February 18th, 2009. Its very close approach to Earth should alter its orbit and make it something interesting to look at/calculate.
- 1994 CC –
o Will pass 0.0170 AU (6.6 LD) from Earth on June 10th, 2009. Its very close approach to Earth should alter its orbit and make it something interesting to look at/calculate.
- Apophis (99942) –
o On Friday, April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass Earth within the orbits of geosynchronous communication satellites. Although its chance of impact has been reduced to a negligible probability, there probably aren’t many more asteroids that more orbital data exists for. This may make it interesting to observe and compare my data with.
- 2007 TU24 –
o Passed closer to Earth last year (1.4 LD) than any asteroid is known to pass Earth until 2027. Its orbit could be of interest because some believe it to be a “rubble pile” asteroid. It could be cool to see how its composition affects its orbit and compares to that of other asteroids.
- 2001 FE90
o Will pass 0.0180 AU (7.0 LD) from Earth on June 28th, 2009. It could be as big as 650 m in diameter.
- 2009 CV
o Will pass 0.0124 AU (64.8 LD) from Earth on February 23th, 2009. It is passing very close to us but is only estimated to be about 90 m in diameter. It may be interesting to look at the orbit of an asteroids of its size, though.
- 1998 OR2
o The largest asteroid that is making a close approach in the near future. It is about 4.4 km in diameter and will miss us by 70 LD on March 12.
- 2003 QO104
o Another very large asteroid (4.2 km diameter( like 1998 OR2, that will miss us by about half the distance (37 LD) on June 9.
- 161989 Cacus
o An asteroid that’s been discovered for some time and should have precise orbital information. It is 2.2 km in diameter, and will miss Earth by 71 LD on March 7.
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