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Debut ceremony for the SOFIA airborne observatory at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center on June 27th. See news links below. Credit: NASA/Tony Landis.

Contents  on 29 June '07

• Minor-Object News -- seven items
• Minor-Object Science -- seven papers
• IAU Minor Planet Center
  • NEOCP Activity
  • New MPECs -- seven MPECs
  • Observers -- 27 observing facilities
• Impact Risk Monitoring -- nothing to report
• Chronology

WELCOME to A/CC's prototype daily news publication designed to be the viewing end of a planned autonomous 24-hour news service. The new tools and this publication format are working well enough now to share with readers. It is expected that this approach will require less time to maintain than our previous news and small asteroid pages, which were retired on May 14th. There's still more development ahead and there probably will be some glitches along the way, but this is what's needed to keep up with the increasing pace of minor-object news. The CRT page will be maintained separately for a little while longer, until all of this is working smoothly. And the CRT and small-asteroid ephemerides will be kept going.

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Minor-Object News  on 29 June '07

• "New Horizons Slips into Electronic Slumber," NASA New Horizons mission 29 June - Quote: "On commands transmitted from the Mission Operations Center at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland, through NASA's Deep Space Network, the spacecraft eased into hibernation mode in the early hours of June 27. Since then, New Horizons has twice broadcast 'green' beacon tones back to Earth, indicating all systems are healthy and operating as programmed."
• "Massive flying telescope SOFIA celebrates debut," Los Angeles Daily News 28 June - Quote: "An official coming-out party was held Wednesday for a mammoth flying telescope... None of Dryden's hangars can handle an aircraft the size of a Boeing 747, so officials are planning to temporarily house the airplane in an Air Force hangar on base."
  • "Debut Of The Flying Observatory To Be Held," Glass On Web 28 June - Quote: "The modified Boeing 747 SP jumbo jet will be on show with its high performance infrared telescope built by the German partners. At the heart of the telescope is a 2.7 meter mirror substrate manufactured by the German technology company Schott AG using its 'Zerodur' glass ceramic."
• "Oceans from Space," SETI Institute at Space.com 28 June - Quote: "When I stand on the edge of the ocean, or fly across the Pacific, it seems incredible that snowballs from space could have filled the oceans. Given several hundred million years, it works."
• "Nasa readies for asteroid mission," BBC 27 June - Quote: "While Ceres is a 'wet' object, Vesta is devoid of water and appears to have been resurfaced by ancient lava flows."
  • "Asteroid mission facing delays," San Gabriel Valley Tribune 26 June - Quote: "Liftoff of the asteroid-visiting Dawn spacecraft, already postponed two weeks, could now be delayed until fall, NASA administrators announced Tuesday."
• "Team makes Tunguska crater claim," BBC 26 June - Quote: "This finding contradicts results from an expedition to the region in the 1960s. That team estimated that Cheko was 5000 to 10,000 years old, based on the development of silt on the lake bottom... Intriguingly, Lake Cheko does not appear on any maps before 1929, though the researchers admit the region was poorly charted before this time."

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Minor-Object Science  on 29 June '07

• "Gap Formation in the Dust Layer of 3D Protoplanetary Disks" by Maddison, S.T. with L. Fouchet & J.-F. Gonzalez, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 29 June - Quote: "We numerically model the evolution of dust in a protoplanetary disk using a two-phase (gas + dust) Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code, which is non-self-gravitating and locally isothermal. The code follows the three dimensional distribution of dust in a protoplanetary disk as it interacts with the gas via aerodynamic drag."
• "Radial and vertical angular momentum transport in protostellar discs" by Salmeron, Raquel with Arieh Koenigl & Mark Wardle, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 29 June - Quote: "Angular momentum in protostellar discs can be transported either radially, through turbulence induced by the magnetorotational instability (MRI), or vertically, through the torque exerted by a large-scale magnetic field. We present a model of steady-state discs where these two mechanisms operate at the same radius and derive approximate criteria for their occurrence in an ambipolar diffusion dominated disc."
• "The role of thermal pressure in jet launching" by Soker, Noam, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 29 June - Quote: "I present and discuss a unified scheme for jet launching that is based on stochastic dissipation of the accretion disk kinetic energy, mainly via shock waves. In this scheme, termed thermally-launched jet model, the kinetic energy of the accreted mass is transferred to internal energy, e.g., heat or magnetic energy. The internal energy accelerates a small fraction of the accreted mass to high speeds and form jets."
• "Cool Customers in the Stellar Graveyard IV: Spitzer Search for Mid-IR excesses Around Five DAZs" by Debes, J.H. with S. Sigurdsson & B. Hansen, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 28 June - Quote: "Hydrogen atmosphere white dwarfs with metal lines, so-called DAZs, require external accretion of material to explain the presence of weak metal line absorption in their photospheres. The source of this material is currently unknown, but could come from the interstellar medium, unseen companions, or relic planetesimals from asteroid belt or Kuiper belt analogues... All of our targets show no excesses due to companions... No excesses due to circumstellar disks are observed, and we place limits on what types of disks may still be present."
• "ASTE Submillimeter Observations of a Young Stellar Object Condensation in Cederblad 110" by Hiramatsu, Masaaki with Takahiro Hayakawa, Ken'ichi Tatematsu & 5 others, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 29 June - Quote: "We present results of submillimeter observations of a low-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) condensation in the Cederblad 110 region of the Chamaeleon I dark cloud with Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment. Our HCO+(J=4-3) map reveals a dense molecular gas with an extent of ~0.1 pc, which is a complex of two envelopes associated with class I sources Ced110 IRS4 and IRS11 and a very young object Cha-MMS1... The outflow from IRS4 seems to collide with Cha-MMS1. The outflow has enough momentum to affect gas motion in MMS1, although no sign has been detected to indicate that a triggered star formation has occurred."
• "TMC-1C: an accreting starless core" by Schnee, S. with P. Caselli, A. Goodman & 3 others, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 29 June - Quote: "We have mapped the starless core TMC-1C in a variety of molecular lines with the IRAM 30m telescope. High density tracers show clear signs of self-absorption and sub-sonic infall asymmetries are present in N2H+ (1-0) and DCO+ (2-1) lines. The inward velocity profile in N2H+ (1-0) is extended over a region of about 7,000 AU in radius around the dust continuum peak, which is the most extended 'infalling' region observed in a starless core with this tracer."
• "Star Formation in Molecular Clouds?" by Evans II, Neal J., abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 29 June - Quote: "Using studies of nearby star formation with Spitzer, I will argue that star formation is restricted to dense cores within molecular clouds... Their distribution over masses and over the cloud is similar to that of stars, and their efficiency of forming stars is much higher than that of the whole cloud."

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NEOCP Activity  on 29 June '07

The MPC's NEO Confirmation Page is currently empty

The NEOCP is currently empty and hasn't been noted by Major News as active yet today (last checked at 2357 UTC).

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New MPECs  on 29 June '07

Minor Planet Electronic Circulars

As of last check at 2357 UTC, there have been seven MPECs issued today from the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• MPEC 2007-M50 time-stamped "06:08 UT" - Daily Orbit Update - see below
• MPEC 2007-M51 time-stamped "14:01 UT" - Comet C/2007 K4 (Gibbs) - see below
• MPEC 2007-M52 time-stamped "14:06 UT" - Comet C/2007 K6 (McNaught) - see below
• MPEC 2007-M53 time-stamped "14:10 UT" - Comet C/2007 M1 (McNaught) - see below
• MPEC 2007-M54 time-stamped "14:14 UT" - Comet C/2007 M2 (Catalina) - see below
• MPEC 2007-M55 time-stamped "14:18 UT" - Comet C/2007 M3 (LINEAR) - see below
• MPEC 2007-M56 time-stamped "14:25 UT" - Observations of Comets

MPEC 2007-M56 - "14:25 UT" - Observations of Comets

• CK07G010   C/2007 G1 (LINEAR) from Montcabre Obs. (June 22.88-90p3), Los Altos de Arguineguin Obs. (June 23.01-02p3), Rodeno Obs. (June 23.01-03p3), Murcia Obs. (June 23.93-94p3), Vega del Thader Obs. (June 24.91-92p5), Modra Obs. (June 25.93p2), and Chante-Perdrix Obs. (June 26.91-93p3 & 27.96-97p3)
• CK07E020   C/2007 E2 (Lovejoy) from Geisei Obs. (May 13.64p1, 17.60p1, 19.70p1, 20.53p1, 22.68p1, 25.68p1, June 6.51-52p2, 10.53p1 & 20.57p1), Ageo Obs. (June 20.68-69p2 & 23.51-52p3), Posadas Obs. (June 21.91-93p3), Montcabre Obs. (June 22.86p3), Rodeno Obs. (June 22.90-91p3 & 23.90-92p3), Los Altos de Arguineguin Obs. (June 22.91-92p3), Murcia Obs. (June 23.92p1), the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) (June 24.21-22p4), and Modra Obs. (June 24.85-86p2)
• CK07D010   C/2007 D1 (LINEAR) from Kambah Obs. (June 22.40-41p2 & 23.40-41p2)
• CK06V13Z   C/2006 VZ13 (LINEAR) from Geisei Obs. (June 10.73p2, 20.66p1, 26.61-64p3 & 26.76p1), Ka-Dar Obs. (June 18.93-94p13), Posadas Obs. (June 22.01p3, 23.01-03p3, 25.02-03p3 & 27.02p3), Ageo Obs. (June 22.74-75p2 & 23.58p3), Montcabre Obs. (June 22.94p3 & 24.09-10p3), Rodeno Obs. (June 23.04p3 & 23.99-00p3), Vega del Thader Obs. (June 24.02p4 & 24.94-95p5), Nazaret Obs. (June 24.13p1), Modra Obs. (June 26.00-01p4), and Chante-Perdrix Obs. (June 26.95-96p3)
• CK06O02F   C/2006 OF2 (Broughton) from Mataro Obs. (June 16.04-05p2 & 23.04p2) and Iluro Obs. (June 23.12p2)
• CK06K040   C/2006 K4 (NEAT) from Ageo Obs. (June 12.72-73p2), El Leoncito Obs. (June 23.28-30p4), and Kambah Obs. (June 23.56-57p2)
• CK06H51W   C/2006 HW51 (Siding Spring) from Buchloe Obs. (June 7.99p1) and Modra Obs. (June 25.95p2)
• CK05Y00W   C/2005 YW (LINEAR) from Kambah Obs. (June 13.54-58p4, 22.46-47p2 & 23.44-45p2)
• CK05L030   C/2005 L3 (McNaught) from Posadas Obs. (June 21.97-98p3, 22.98-99p3, 24.98-99p3 & 26.95-97p3), Montcabre Obs. (June 22.93p3), Mataro Obs. (June 22.94-96p2), Rodeno Obs. (June 22.00-01p3 & 23.98-99p3), Los Altos de Arguineguin Obs. (June 23.08-09p3), El Leoncito Obs. (June 23.17-21p5), Murcia Obs. (June 23.95p3), Vega del Thader Obs. (June 23.95p4 & 24.90p4), and Chante-Perdrix Obs. (June 28.93-94p3)
• CK03W42T   C/2003 WT42 (LINEAR) from Greiner Research Obs. (May 10.16-17p3) and Ageo Obs. (June 23.55p2)
• CK02V94Q   C/2002 VQ94 (LINEAR) from Rodeno Obs. (June 22.94-96p3) and Chante-Perdrix Obs. (June 27.90-94p7)
• 0186   186P/Garradd from the Siding Spring Survey (SSS) (June 22.44p1) and Kambah Obs. (June 23.52-53p2)
• 0096   96P/Machholz 1 from Mataro Obs. (June 16.00-01p2 & 22.90-92p3), Vega del Thader Obs. (June 19.89p2, 23.93-94p12 & 24.89p5), Ageo Obs. (June 20.70-71p2), Posadas Obs. (June 21.95-96p3, 22.93-94p3, 24.96-97p3 & 26.92-94p3), Montcabre Obs. (June 22.91p3 & 24.04p3), Rodeno Obs. (June 22.99p3 & 23.95-97p3), Los Altos de Arguineguin Obs. (June 23.03p3), New Millennium Obs. (June 23.92-03p12 & 24.90-94p9), Murcia Obs. (June 23.95p3), Nazaret Obs. (June 24.15p1), and Chante-Perdrix Obs. (June 28.91-92p3)
• 0017   17P/Holmes from Ageo Obs. (June 2.74-75p2 & 22.73p2) and CSS (June 24.46-47p3)

MPEC 2007-M55 - "14:18 UT" - Comet C/2007 M3 (LINEAR)

• CK07M030   C/2007 M3 (LINEAR) (i=161.8°, q=3.473 AU, TP=2007 Sept. 4.611 TT) from Geisei Obs. (June 26.70-71p2), Table Mtn. Obs. (June 27.27-29p4), and Bisei Spaceguard Center (Bisei) (June 27.56-57p5)

MPEC 2007-M54 - "14:14 UT" - Comet C/2007 M2 (Catalina)

• CK07M020   C/2007 M2 (Catalina) (i=81.0°, q=3.683 AU, TP=2008 Dec. 8.983 TT) from Table Mtn. Obs. (June 24.18-19p4) and Montcabre Obs. (June 24.87-88p2)

MPEC 2007-M53 - "14:10 UT" - Comet C/2007 M1 (McNaught)

• CK07M010   C/2007 M1 (McNaught) (i=139.8°, q=7.345 AU, TP=2008 Sept. 21.998 TT) from Cordell-Lorenz Obs. (June 22.24-26p2), Montcabre Obs. (June 22.00p2), and Table Mtn. Obs. (June 24.31-33p2)

MPEC 2007-M52 - "14:06 UT" - Comet C/2007 K6 (McNaught)

• CK07K060   C/2007 K6 (McNaught) (i=105.2°, q=3.438 AU, TP=2007 July 4.648 TT) from Kambah Obs. (June 22.78-79p2 & 23.75p2)

MPEC 2007-M51 - "14:01 UT" - Comet C/2007 K4 (Gibbs)

• CK07K040   C/2007 K4 (Gibbs) (i=98.6°, q=3.527 AU, TP=2007 May 3.879 TT) from Chante-Perdrix Obs. (June 22.91-95p3) and Table Mtn. Obs. (June 24.22-24p4)

<< DOU on 29 June '07 >>  MPEC 2007-M50 - "06:08 UT" - Daily Orbit Update

• Observations of small asteroids (H>22.0)
• K07M04B   2007 MB4 (arc=14 days, H=22.7 ~98m) from Santa Mama Obs. (June 28.89-91p3)
• Observations of other objects
• K07D84S   2007 DS84 (arc=87 days, H=20.8 ~234m) from New Millennium Obs. (March 12.97-10p10)
• K06G00B   2006 GB (arc=2 opp, H=20.3 ~295m) from CSS (June 28.29-31p4)
• K05N44W   2005 NW44 (arc=2 opp, H=20.4 ~282m) from Santa Mama Obs. (June 27.87-88p2 & 28.85-88p4)
• F4807   154807 2004 PP97 from New Millennium Obs. (March 12.00-17p12)
• F4453   154453 2003 CJ11 from New Millennium Obs. (March 13.07-14p6)
• E5656   145656 4788 P-L from New Millennium Obs. (March 13.02-06p4 & 13.13-17p4)
• D8883   138883 2000 YL29 from New Millennium Obs. (March 12.95-11p13)
• D6874   136874 1998 FH74 from CSS (June 28.26-28p4)
• 96189   96189 1991 NT3 from Jurassien-Vicques Obs. (2003 Feb. 18.76p2)
• 85275   85275 1994 LY from Le Couvent de Lentin Obs. (June 27.86-89p3)
• 40267   40267 1999 GJ4 from CSS (June 28.16-18p4)

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Observers  on 29 June '07

A total of 27 observing facilities appear in today's MPECs.

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Impact Risk Monitoring  on 29 June '07

At last check (NEODyS at 2259 and JPL at 2357 UTC) there was no risk monitoring news to report yet today.

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Chronology  on 29 June '07

Times are UTC for when the items were noted by Major News.