scholarly journals From Discovery to Impact - Near Earth Asteroids

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 73-78
Author(s):  
Miloš Tichý ◽  
Michaela Honková ◽  
Jana Tichá ◽  
Michal Kočer
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Current System ◽  
Small Bodies ◽  
Impact Site ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Near Earth Asteroids ◽  
Near Earth Objects

The Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are the most important of the small bodies of the solar system, having the capability of close approaches to the Earth and the chance to collide with the Earth.  We present here the current system of discovery of these dangerous objects, standards for selecting useful and important targets for NEO follow-up astrometry, system of impact probabilities calculations, and also determination of impact site and evacuation area.

scholarly journals New Tools for the Optimized Follow-Up of Imminent Impactors

Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Maddalena Mochi ◽  
Giacomo Tommei
Keyword(s):  
Orbit Determination ◽  
Main Belt ◽  
Impact Monitoring ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Current Observation ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Fly Eye ◽  
Near Earth Asteroids ◽  
Near Earth Objects

The solar system is populated with, other than planets, a wide variety of minor bodies, the majority of which are represented by asteroids. Most of their orbits are comprised of those between Mars and Jupiter, thus forming a population named Main Belt. However, some asteroids can run on trajectories that come close to, or even intersect, the orbit of the Earth. These objects are known as Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) or Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and may entail a risk of collision with our planet. Predicting the occurrence of such collisions as early as possible is the task of Impact Monitoring (IM). Dedicated algorithms are in charge of orbit determination and risk assessment for any detected NEO, but their efficiency is limited in cases in which the object has been observed for a short period of time, as is the case with newly discovered asteroids and, more worryingly, imminent impactors: objects due to hit the Earth, detected only a few days or hours in advance of impacts. This timespan might be too short to take any effective safety countermeasure. For this reason, a necessary improvement of current observation capabilities is underway through the construction of dedicated telescopes, e.g., the NEO Survey Telescope (NEOSTEL), also known as “Fly-Eye”. Thanks to these developments, the number of discovered NEOs and, consequently, imminent impactors detected per year, is expected to increase, thus requiring an improvement of the methods and algorithms used to handle such cases. In this paper we present two new tools, based on the Admissible Region (AR) concept, dedicated to the observers, aiming to facilitate the planning of follow-up observations of NEOs by rapidly assessing the possibility of them being imminent impactors and the remaining visibility time from any given station.

scholarly journals Solar System Science with Robotic Telescopes

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S285) ◽  
pp. 352-354
Author(s):  
T. A. Lister
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Automated System ◽  
System Science ◽  
Sky Surveys ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Solar System Objects ◽  
Robotic Telescopes ◽  
On Line ◽  
Near Earth Objects

AbstractAn increasing number of sky surveys is already on-line or soon will be, leading to a large boost in the detection of Solar System objects of all types. For Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) that could potentially hit the Earth, timely follow-up is essential. I describe the development of an automated system which responds to new detections of NEOs from Pan-STARRS and automatically observes them with the LCOGT telescopes. I present results from the first few months of operation, and plans for the future with the 6-site, 40-telescope global LCOGT Network.

scholarly journals Strategy for NEO follow-up observations

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (H16) ◽  
pp. 185-185
Author(s):  
Milos Tichy ◽  
Michaela Honkova ◽  
Jana Ticha ◽  
Michal Kocer
Keyword(s):  
Small Bodies ◽  
Time Uncertainty ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Observation Strategy ◽  
On Line ◽  
Single Night ◽  
Uncertainty Map ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Near Earth Objects

AbstractThe Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) belong to the most important small bodies in the solar system, having the capability of close approaches to the Earth and even possibility to collide with the Earth. In fact, it is impossible to calculate reliable orbit of an object from a single night observations. Therefore it is necessary to extend astrometry dataset by early follow-up astrometry. Follow-up observations of the newly discovered NEO candidate should be done over an arc of several hours after the discovery and should be repeated over several following nights. The basic service used for planning of the follow-up observations is the NEO Confirmation Page (NEOCP) maintained by the Minor Planet Center of the IAU. This service provides on-line tool for calculating geocentric and topocentic ephemerides and sky-plane uncertainty maps of these objects at the specific date and time. Uncertainty map is one of the most important information used for planning of follow-up observation strategy for given time, indicating also the estimated distance of the newly discovered object and including possibility of the impact. Moreover, observatories dealing with NEO follow-up regularly have prepared their special tools and systems for follow-up work. The system and strategy for the NEO follow-up observation used at the Klet Observatory are described here. Methods and techniques used at the Klet NEO follow-up CCD astrometric programme, using 1.06-m and 0.57-m telescopes, are also discussed.

scholarly journals Reference frame linking and tests of GR with Gaia astrometry of asteroids

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S248) ◽  
pp. 266-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Hestroffer ◽  
S. Mouret ◽  
J. Berthier ◽  
F. Mignard ◽  
P. Tanga
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Reference Frame ◽  
Gravitational Constant ◽  
Equations Of Motion ◽  
Small Bodies ◽  
Rotating Reference Frame ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Near Earth Objects ◽  
Instrument Sensitivity

AbstractThe Gaia satellite, an ESA cornerstone mission to be launched at the end of the year 2011, will observe a large number of celestial bodies including also small bodies of the solar system. Albeit spread from the inner to the outer regions of the solar system, these are mainly near-Earth objects and main-belt asteroids. All objects brighter than magnitude V ≤ 20 that cross the field of view (i.e. with solar elongation 45° ≤ L ≤ 135°) of the survey-mode scanning telescope will be observed. The mission will provide, over its 5 years duration, high precision photometry and astrometry with an unprecedented accuracy ranging roughly from 0.3 to 3 milli-arcsecond on the CCD level, and depending on the target's magnitude. In addition, several hundreds of QSOs directly observed by Gaia will provide the kinematically non-rotating reference frame in the visible light, resulting in the construction of a ‘Gaia-ICRF’.The positions of the asteroids hence enable to relate the dynamical reference frame—as defined by the equations of motion—to the kinematic one, and to further check the non-rotating consistency between both frames' definition. Here we show the results of a variance analysis obtained from a realistic simulation of observations for such a link. The simulation takes into account the time sequences and geometry of the observations that are particular to Gaia observations of solar system objects, as well as the instrument sensitivity and photon noise. Additionally, we show the achievable precision for the determination of a possible time variation of the gravitational constant Ġ/G. Taking into account the non-completeness of the actually known population of NEOs, we also give updated values for the nominal precision of the joint determination of the solar quadrupole J2 and PPN parameter β.

scholarly journals Klet Observatory – European Contribution to Detecting and Tracking of Near Earth Objects

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 107-116
Author(s):  
Miloš Tichý
Keyword(s):  
Ccd Camera ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Minor Planets ◽  
Earth Object ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Orbit Computation ◽  
Near Earth Asteroids ◽  
International Strategies ◽  
Near Earth Objects

Near Earth Object (NEO) research is an expanding field of astronomy. Is is important for solar system science and also for protecting human society from asteroid and comet hazard.  A near-Earth object (NEO) can be defined as an asteroid or comet that has a possibility of making an approach to the Earth, or possibly even collide with it. The discovery rate of current NEO surveys reflects progressive improvement in a number of technical areas. An integral part of NEO discovery is astrometric follow-up fundamental for precise orbit computation and for the reasonable judging of future close encounters with the Earth including possible impact solutions. A wide international cooperation is fundamental for NEO research.  The Klet Observatory (South Bohemia, Czech Republic) is aimed especially at the confirmation, early follow-up, long-arc follow-up and recovery of Near Earth Objects. It ranks among the world´s most prolific professional NEO follow-up programmes.  The first NEO follow-up programme started at Klet in 1993 using 0.57-reflector equipped with a small CCD camera. A fundamental upgrade was made in 2002 when the 1.06-m KLENOT telescope was put into regular operation. The KLENOT Telescope is the largest telescope in Europe used exclusively for observations of minor planets (asteroids) and comets and full observing time is dedicated to the KLENOT team.  Equipment, technology, software, observing strategy and results of both the Klet Observatory NEO Project between 1993-2010 and the first phase of the KLENOT Project from March 2002 to September 2008 are presented. They consist of thousands of precise astrometric measurements of Near Earth Objects and also three newly discovered Near Earth Asteroids.  Klet Observatory NEO activities as well as our future plans fully reflect international strategies and cooperation in the field of NEO studies.

Dodging the Asteroids?

Impact! ◽  
1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerrit L. Verschuur
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Scientific Investigation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Large Problem ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Near Earth Objects ◽  
The U.S

Finding asteroids and comets that may someday slam into our planet is the first step. What do we do then? This question is being given a whole lot of attention. In early 1993 NASA and the U.S. Congress received a report of the Near-Earth-Objects Interception Workshop (Spaceguard), the first step toward creating a program for pushing aside approaching asteroids. The report stated that “There is a clear need for continuing national and international scientific investigation and political leadership to establish a successful and broadly acceptable policy.” There are two or three options open to us to avoid being wiped out. The first is to step out of the way. This may not sound very practical, and it isn’t, at least not for a planet-load of people. However, if we plan ahead we could ship a few thousand human beings to other parts of the solar system so that if the earth were to be struck, they, at least, would survive. This would only be a privilege for a few, and getting back to earth after the cataclysm could be a rather large problem in itself. Who will welcome them back upon their return? Where would they land? If we could afford to set up colonies on the moon or Mars, the colonists could wait until after the dust had settled before attempting to return. The problem with this option is that, after a really healthy thwack, the earth’s environment would be so altered that returning human beings might find this to be an alien planet. The second way in which we could avoid getting hit would be to place an object between the onrushing comet or asteroid and ourselves. For such an emergency it might pay to place a few asteroids in geocentric orbit to be maneuvered when we need them. Then we could watch the spectacle as one asteroid slams into another, possibly showering the planet with small bits of debris that might do no more than create a spectacular display of fireballs—if we get it right, of course.

scholarly journals Four-billion year stability of the Earth–Mars belt

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 1151-1157
Author(s):  
Yukun Huang (黄宇坤) ◽  
Brett Gladman
Keyword(s):  
Semimajor Axis ◽  
Orbital Stability ◽  
Terrestrial Planet ◽  
Small Bodies ◽  
Mean Motion Resonances ◽  
Mean Motion ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Steady State Model ◽  
Near Earth Objects

ABSTRACT Previous work has demonstrated orbital stability for 100 Myr of initially near-circular and coplanar small bodies in a region termed the ‘Earth–Mars belt’ from 1.08 < a < 1.28 au. Via numerical integration of 3000 particles, we studied orbits from 1.04–1.30 au for the age of the Solar system. We show that on this time-scale, except for a few locations where mean-motion resonances with Earth affect stability, only a narrower ‘Earth–Mars belt’ covering a ∼ (1.09, 1.17) au, e < 0.04, and I < 1° has over half of the initial orbits survive for 4.5 Gyr. In addition to mean-motion resonances, we are able to see how the ν3, ν4, and ν6 secular resonances contribute to long-term instability in the outer (1.17–1.30 au) region on Gyr time-scales. We show that all of the (rather small) near-Earth objects (NEOs) in or close to the Earth–Mars belt appear to be consistent with recently arrived transient objects by comparing to a NEO steady-state model. Given the <200 m scale of these NEOs, we estimated the Yarkovsky drift rates in semimajor axis and use these to estimate that a diameter of ∼100 km or larger would allow primordial asteroids in the Earth–Mars belt to likely survive. We conclude that only a few 100-km sized asteroids could have been present in the belt’s region at the end of the terrestrial planet formation.

A New Determination of Muon Directional Coupling Coefficients

1968 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 154-157
Author(s):  
D. J. Cooke ◽  
A. G. Fenton
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Rays ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Coupling Coefficients ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Directional Coupling ◽  
Cosmic Ray Flux ◽  
Primary Cosmic Rays

Primary cosmic rays passing through the solar system carry with them valuable information about solar and astrophysical phenomena in the form of intensity and spectral variations. In order that this information be efficiently extracted from observations of the directional cosmic-ray flux at the surface of the Earth, it is essential to have accurate information available to enable the relating of the observed secondary cosmic-ray directions of motion and intensity to those outside the range of the disturbing terrestrial influences.

scholarly journals Phaethon-Gemind complex by Pan-STARRS

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (H16) ◽  
pp. 138-138
Author(s):  
Shinsuke Abe
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Physical Nature ◽  
Rapid Response ◽  
Rapid Response System ◽  
Sky Surveys ◽  
Response System ◽  
Near Earth Objects

AbstractThe physical nature such as orbital distribution of asteroids is fundamental to understanding how our solar system has been evolved. The connection between Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) and Earth impactors such as meteorites and fireballs are still under debate, since there is no meteorite orbit whose parent NEO was identified. The orbital distribution of NEOs has been investigated by comprehensive sky surveys including Pan-STARRS (The Panoramic Survey Telescope And Rapid Response System). Here we focus on the Phaethon-Gemind complex detected by Pan-STARRS PS1 Prototype Telescope and our follow-up lightcurve observations.

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