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July
2005
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6 July 2005 - Wednesday
 C/2005 A1 (LINEAR) at left with its A and B components, imaged yesterday morning by Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero in Italy with Rent-A-Scope at New Mexico Skies. Their composite showing image analysis is available here (84Kb). |
Comet news: MPEC 2005-N21 of July 4th showed that C/2005 A1 (LINEAR) has split. Astrometry from La Murta Observatory is reported from June 25th for the smaller B component and from July 3rd and 4th for both components. Ernesto Guido in Italy comments to A/CC that "It seems that we are living a season of splitting comets," and provided a copy of his and Giovanni Sostero's message to CBAT yesterday:
“ We can confirm the presence of a secondary component within the coma of C/2005 A1 (LINEAR), as reported on M.P.E.C. 2005-N21 on a series of CCD images obtained remotely on July 5.41, 2005, using a 0.25m f/3.4 reflector (near Mayhill, NM), it's possible to see a secondary condensation (R = 16.5) placed in PA 210 deg, almost 21 arcsec away from the main nucleus; this component show a small tail almost 20 arcsec long toward PA 250 deg, and follows the proper motion of the primary component. ”
He points out the interesting small tail on the secondary component as seen in the above image.
MPEC 2005-N29 yesterday announced the latest comet discovery, C/2005 N3 (Larson), with the first observation from Steve Larson at the Mt. Lemmon Survey (MLS) in Arizona shown from the morning of July 3rd. It is traveling at a low inclination (i=8.2°) and the preliminary calculation has perihelion coming on December 18th at 1.25088 AU, half way between the orbits of Earth and Mars.
Traveling at higher inclination and not coming as close to Earth's orbit is P/1998 W2 (Hergenrother), another CSS discovery. It was recovered on 4 and 5 July by David Herald at Kambah Observatory in Australia after not having been reported observed since 15 April 1999, as reported yesterday in MPEC 2005-N28. Perihelion is calculated for November 2nd at 1.42577 AU.
Risk monitoring: Today JPL posted 2005 NB7 and 2005 NE7 with impact solutions. Both objects are estimated at a bit over half a kilometer wide and were discovered yesterday — 2005 NB7 by the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) in Arizona (MPEC 2005-N33) and 2005 NE7 by the Siding Spring Survey (SSS) in New South Wales (MPEC 2005-N32). Grasslands Observatory in Arizona took part in confirming both discoveries, while the Mt. Lemmon Survey (MLS) in Arizona, Schiaparelli Observatory in Italy, and Farpoint Observatory in Kansas pitched in for 2005 NB7. And the 2005 NE7 confirmation was joined by the Australian National University 1m telescope in New South Wales and Table Mountain Observatory in southern California.
Another half-kilometer object, 2005 NJ1 was posted yesterday by JPL (while still July 4th locally) and then NEODyS. Among the highly preliminary impact solutions is one in JPL's risk assessment less than four years from now. 2005 NJ1 was announced on the 4th in MPEC 2005-N22 as discovered by CSS on July 2nd and soon confirmed with the remotely operated Faulkes Telescope North (code "3") in Hawaii. It was caught the next morning by Sabino Canyon Observatory in Arizona and Table Mountain Observatory, and Table Mountain and the MLS closed out the discovery process on the morning of the 4th.
The Daily Orbit Update MPECs for yesterday and today reported observation of 2005 NG, from the night of the 4th at Wildberg Observatory in Germany, the next morning at McCarthy Observatory in Connecticut and McDonald Observatory in Texas, and last night from Suno Observatory in Italy. The net result since Monday is that both risk monitors have lowered their low risk assesments for this small object.
A/CC's latest risk monitoring details, and links to more information, are posted on the CRT page, and updates are flagged via the A/CC RSS news feed (details below).
July
2005
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4 July 2005 - Monday
Deep Impact: Pepe Manteca speaks for A/CC and all of its readers in saying, "Congratulations for Deep Impact!" for a terrific mission success. And David Healy at Junk Bond Observatory in Arizona sends this personal experience:
I posted this on a couple of visual observing lists last night, and thought it might be of interest for A/CC:
My son Tom Healy, my son-in-law Mike Fisher, and I observed the Deep Impact event with JBO's 32-inch RC and a 20mm Nagler yielding 300x.
Before the event, the comet showed a faint tail and a stellar nucleus in averted vision. About 3 minutes after impact time of 5:52 UT, the nucleus began brightening, and by about 15 minutes after impact we all could hold the nucleus in direct vision. I'd estimate that the nucleus at least doubled in brightness by about half an hour after impact, after which its brightness seemed to stabilize. Tom and Mike saw the nucleus brighten significantly, but were less certain about the degree of brightening.
The evening started auspiciously with a Hubble [Space Telescope] pass at the exact minute at which astronomical twilight ended, and Hubble favored us with an unexpected Iridium-flare-like brightening — I'd guess that it brightened for a few seconds from +2 to -2 magnitude.
Too hell with imaging, let's observe!
(Did I say that?)
Risk monitoring: Today's Daily Orbit Update MPEC reported observation of 2005 NG from Schiaparelli Observatory in Italy Saturday night, discoverer Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona yesterday morning, and Wildberg Observatory in Germany last night. Today JPL raised its low risk ratings for this small object while cutting to a single impact solution, and NEODyS posted it with three solutions of similar rating.
July
2005
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3 July 2005 - Sunday
Comet news: MPEC 2005-N10 today announced the newest amateur-discovered comet, C/2005 N1 (Juels-Holvorcem). It was found yesterday morning by Charles Juels and Paulo Holvorcem with Juels' Fountain Hills Observatory in Arizona and was subsequently located in the observatory's images from the mornings of June 30th and July 1st. It was also observed by them and others this morning. Perihelion is preliminarily calculated for the 21st of next month at about 1.138 AU from both the Sun and Earth, traveling on a highly inclined path (i=50.8°).
Risk monitoring: JPL today posted 2005 NG as a risk. This small object was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey early yesterday UT as it was coming away from passing the Earth at 9.5 lunar distances on June 29th. Discovery confirmation came last night from CINEOS in Italy, Great Shefford Observatory in England, and Consell Observatory in Spain, and this morning from Sabino Canyon Observatory in Arizona and Table Mountain Observatory in southern California.
No observations of objects with impact solutions were reported in today's Daily Orbit Update MPEC.
Editor's note: When the Deep Impact mission strikes comet 9P/Tempel 1 tomorrow, I will not be knitting together comprehensive coverage for A/CC readers as I once did with such events. I have been in school full-time since January, and since early April I haven't had time to follow and report about what other online activities are doing with minor object science (MOS). A/CC has been scaled back to key basics that only it does, mainly monitoring risk monitoring, interpreting for non-technical readers some of the more interesting MPC documents, and giving public credit and providing news space for otherwise unsung but crucial amateur contributions to MOS.
To summarize 30 months' effort, I worked more than full time self-funded from March 2002 to October 2004 to assemble a central news and information source for the many isolated aspects of minor object science. It did get some vital assistance from a few amateur observers, but, to justify seeking foundation funding, A/CC had to attract wider astronomical community support and a good-sized public audience. By last September I had to accept that the support and interest was not approaching what was needed. So it was time to go to plan B, to find work in another field. A/CC would continue as a part-time avocation, not unlike how most NEO observers' efforts are supported by their own day jobs.
I am now in college (at age 58) to prepare for employment in geographic information systems (GIS). Last school term I tried to mix interests with a project charting impact craters in the southwestern U.S. That project's focus quickly turned to programming and underlying technical issues of geographic data quality, data handling, and metadata, but some visual aspects appear on a page here about Utah's Upheaval Dome impact structure.
July
2005
2 July 2005 - Saturday
Risk monitoring: Today's Daily Orbit Update MPEC reports observations of 2005 MM13 yesterday from Desert Moon Observatory in New Mexico and Mt. John Observatory in New Zealand, and today JPL removed all of its impact solutions for this half-kilometer object.
July
2005
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1 July 2005 - Friday
Comet news: MPEC 2005-M65 yesterday announced comet P/2005 JD108 (Catalina-NEAT), and the IAU Astronomical Headlines page notes the "Discovery as apparently asteroidal in course of Catalina Sky Survey; discovered independently later as a comet by the NEAT survey." The designation indicates a discovery date in mid-May, and the MPEC reports observations from NEAT's Mt. Palomar telescope and others since June 21st. Perihelion is calculated at 4.032734 AU a month from today, traveling a path that goes from inside Jupiter's orbit almost all the way out to Saturn.
Risk monitoring: JPL has posted impact solutions for 2005 MM13, which had its discovery announced today in MPEC 2005-N02. It was found with the Mt. Palomar telescope used by JPL's NEAT program early Thursday UT, and the discovery was confirmed this morning by Table Mountain Observatory in southern California and Grasslands Observatory in Arizona. JPL puts this object's diameter at just over a half kilometer.
No Daily Orbit Update (DOU) MPEC was posted today. The MPC Status Page noted this morning simply that "Last night's DOU MPEC has been abandoned."