The Asteroid/Comet Connection's
daily news journal about
asteroids, comets, and meteors

Today's issue status: done

• News briefs – crater study & Hubble news
• Risk monitoring
  – NEODyS has removed 2004 BV1

Cover: Yesterday's "cover" showed a nearby 400-meter asteroid imaged with a 4.2m telescope and adaptive optics (AO). The images at left show what the venerable 100" (2.7m) Hooker Telescope at Mt. Wilson can do with its new AO system, capturing some details of Main Belt asteroid 3 Juno [link|alt], which is about 240 km. (150 miles) wide. A Harvard-Smithsonion news release last August described this as "the equivalent of a dime seen at a distance of 7 miles" (see more info and also Juno meteorite news yesterday). Images courtesy of Sallie Baliunas et al.

Crater study:  An Indian Express 24-25 January article tells about efforts to preserve and study the unusual Lonar Crater by a Pune amateur astronomy club, Khagol Vishwa, which the item describes as a "a motley group of youngsters . . . guided by some academicians and professionals." About the crater's importance, see an A/CC January 16th report (under "More meteor news").

Hubble news:  New Scientist has an article today, "Save Hubble campaign gaining momentum."

Risk monitoring 27 Jan.

The Tuesday Daily Orbit Update MPEC (DOU) has observations of 2004 BV1 from the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope at La Palma in the Canary Islands from Sunday night, and today NEODyS removed its last impact solution for this object. JPL cut its BV1 solution count from 14 to eight, with all but one beyond the NEODyS 2080 time horizon, and lowered its overall BV1 risk ratings.

Correction:  The DOU also includes observations of 2004 BV1 from Jornada Observatory this morning in New Mexico that were used in today's updated assessments for this object. Thanks to David Dixon at Jornada for catching and reporting that this fact was missing from today's report.

None of the other objects currently in view that have impact solutions are reported in today's DOU.