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

Today's issue status: done

• News briefs – meteor show
• Risk monitoring – 2004 BB103, BE68 & BZ74 have been removed

Cover: One more comet breakup, to complete this cover theme with an image and animation from Rafael Ferrando at Pla D'Arguines Observatory. IAUC 7769 of 8 December 2001 announced Pepe Manteca's December 6th discovery at Begues Observatory that 51P/Harrington had split, with confirmation from Montcabre and Pla D'Arguines observatories, all in Spain, including this imagery from the 7th in which east is left and north is down. Previously in this theme, we had 57P/du Toit-Neujmin-Delporte's breakup, and a series on D/1999 S4 (LINEAR), with Rael Ferrando's pre- and post-perihelion views, then from Hubble and 8.2m VLT.

Meteor show:  The Western Morning News of Devon, England reports today that yesterday "At about 6pm reports came in from coastguards across Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, of flashing green and white lights," including "from the Isles of Scilly, across the coast as far as Dorset" — too many sightings and too widespread to be distress signals.

Risk monitoring 7 Feb.

The Saturday Daily Orbit Update MPEC (DOU) has observations of 2004 BB103, BE68, and BZ74, and today NEODyS removed its impact solutions for all three, and JPL eliminated its solutions for BB103 and BZ74, having removed BE68 yesterday.

2004 BB103 was reported from early today from Jornada Observatory in New Mexico. 2004 BE68 was reported from yesterday from Tenagra II Observatory in Arizona and this morning from Jornada. And 2004 BZ74 was reported from Thursday night from the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma in the Canary Islands, from Tenagra II early yesterday, and this morning from Jornada.

2004 CB in also in the DOU, observed yesterday morning by Tenagra II Observatory and this morning by Great Shefford Observatory in England. Today both risk monitors cut their solution counts considerably for this 1.5-km. object and NEODyS slightly lowered its overall risk assessment, while JPL slightly raised its 2004 CB risk ratings.