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

Today's issue status: done

• News briefs – 2nd IEO discovery & FMOP news
  panel 2 – all-sky news
• Risk monitoring
  – NEODyS has removed 2004 HZ & has posted 2004 JO2 with a 2004 impact solution

Cover: Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) imaged last evening (8-9pm MDT) by Arnie Rosner working remotely from southern California with Vivek Hira in New York to obtain an LRGB composite image with two sets of R,G, and B filter exposure at 300 seconds each binned 2x2 and with a 1200-second detail exposures binned 1x1 using an SBIG ST8xe camera on a Takahashi FS78 0.3m Rent-a-scope at New Mexico Skies. Stars appear as series of short red, green, blue, and gray streaks.

Second IEO:  MPEC 2004-J60 issued at 0439 UT today announces 2004 JG6 with aphelion (Q=0.9723 AU) inside Earth's orbit, only the second such object confirmed. 2004 JG6 was discovered early Tuesday by Brian Skiff at LONEOS in Arizona, and confirmed Thursday morning by Tenagra II Observatory in Arizona and Friday morning by Grasslands Observatory in Arizona, Desert Moon Observatory in New Mexico, and Table Mountain Observatory in southern California. From its brightness, it is estimated at a bit under 600 meters/yards wide.

2003 CP20 was the first inside-Earth orbit (IEO) asteroid (see Index).

FMOP news:  It appears there has been some success in the confirmation process for the Spacewatch FMO Project discovery A/CC reported yesterday. There is a new one on the NEOCP today. Temporarily designated SW40DV, it was found by online volunteer L.E. Turner and is reportedly "moving at nearly 11 deg/day and recovery prospects are poor due to its rate."

Known asteroids inside Earth's orbit, from EasySky screen shots.

Peter Birtwhistle tells A/CC that Great Shefford Observatory in England has managed to find SW40DV "about 15' off track," and also tonight has joined in confirming previous FMOP discovery SW40DT.

Update:  MPEC 2004-64 at 0229 UT May 15th announces small object 2004 J012, which is the FMOP SW40DV discovery. It was confirmed by Great Shefford, Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca (OAM), and Modra Observatory in Slovakia.

all-sky news >>

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A/CC composite of two movie-frame composites by Jim Gamble

All-sky news:  Jim Gamble's El Paso, Texas station on the Sandia meteor network reports fireballs at 10:14pm and 12:59am overnight. And, 220 miles (350 km.) due north, Sandia National Lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico has posted a Quicktime movie from its all-sky camera showing a meteor over the SSW horizon at 10:31pm last night (496Kb).

Risk monitoring 14 May

The Friday Daily Orbit Update MPEC (DOU) has observation of 2004 HZ from the University of Hawaii 2.2m Telescope on Mauna Kea from last Friday (May 7th). This added 6.141 days to what had been an 11.973-day observing arc, and today NEODyS removed its last impact solutions for this small object, and JPL narrowed down to one low-rated solution.

2004 HM is in the DOU as observed with the Spacewatch 1.8m telescope in Arizona yesterday morning, and today JPL lowered further its risk rating for a single remaining impact solution one-hundred years from now.

And the DOU has positions reported for 2004 JO2 from Junk Bond Observatory in Arizona yesterday morning, within the existing observation arc. Today JPL replaced one low-rated 2053 impact solution with a solution 29 years later and rated yet slightly lower for this kilometer-size object. NEODyS has now posted this object with a very different assessment having three solutions, the first of which is for November 4th this year. It must be stressed that impact solutions are

not predictions but rather possibilities that haven't yet been eliminated. And any solution based on an observing arc of less than 26 hours is highly preliminary and very likely to change with further observation, which should now become a top priority. Note also that the NEODyS CLOMON2 and JPL Sentry risk monitoring

more risk monitoring >>

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efforts are effective counter-checks on each other, and only NEODyS is showing an early impact solution. See "Understanding Risk Pages" by Jon Giorgini of JPL, and many other links to learn more about the risk monitoring process. [Any journalist considering a report on this subject should first obtain comment from the authoritative sources listed here.–Ed.]

The Minor Planet Center Last Observation page is showing that 2004 JQ1 was observed this morning with the Spacewatch 1.8m telescope.

Update:  The Last Observation page is showing that Great Shefford Observatory in England caught 2004 JO2 tonight, 14 May UT.