9 Sep '07 Major News

Contents on 9 September '07

Minor-Object News -- one item
Minor-Object Science -- two papers
IAU Minor Planet Center
- NEOCP Activity -- eight listings: 5 new, 3 updated
- New MPECs -- three MPECs
- Observers -- eighteen observing facilities
Impact Risk Monitoring -- one object reported
Chronology

Resources:

The latest news: framed access (best), RSS news feed (flags updates), or redirection - Note: A/CC has a main Web site and a backup site.

Navigation tips: Use the << and >> arrows on the menus for each regular section (Observers, Risks, etc.) to move to the previous and next day's news for that section. Use the Index menu item to access specific days this year through a calendar interface. And use the all-up news archive to access news from any time since A/CC began in early 2002. To keep track of what's new each day, watch the Chronology section.

Minor-Object News on 9 September '07

"World's largest radio telescope in peril," Washington Post at MSNBC 9 Sept. - Quote: "[Arecibo] is the only facility on the planet able to track asteroids with enough precision to tell which ones might plow into Earth -- a disaster that could cause as many as a billion deaths and that experts say is preventable with enough warning. Yet, for want of a few million dollars, the future for Arecibo appears grim." {permalink}

Minor-Object Science on 9 September '07

"The distance to the Orion Nebula" by Menten, K.M. with M.J. Reid, J. Forbrich & A. Brunthaler, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 5 Sept. - Quote: "Our distance determination allows for an improved calibration of luminosities and ages of young stars... We have determined the distance to the cluster to be 414 +/- 7 pc." - Note: A parsec (pc) is about 3.26 light years. {permalink}
"On the Distance to the Ophiuchus Star-Forming Region" by Mamajek, Eric E., abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 5 Sept. - Quote: "The Ophiuchus molecular cloud complex has produced in Lynds 1688 the richest known embedded cluster within ~300 pc of the Sun. Unfortunately, distance estimates to the Oph complex vary by nearly ~40%... Here I calculate a new independent distance estimate of 135 +/- 8 pc [and a suggested] consensus distance of 139 +/- 6 pc... Both Oph and Upper Sco have negligible motion (<1 km/s) in the Galactic vertical direction with respect to the Local Standard of Rest, which is inconsistent with the young stellar groups having formed via the high velocity cloud impact scenario." {permalink}

NEOCP Activity on 9 September '07

The MPC's NEO Confirmation Page has 8 listings: 5 new, 3 updated

When last checked at 2355 UTC today, the Minor Planet Center's NEO discovery Confirmation Page (NEOCP) had five new and three updated listings. Of these, five were "one nighters." So far Major News has counted a total of nine objects listed on the NEOCP at some point today.

To learn how observers use the NEOCP, see the Practical guide on how to observe NEOCP object by Birtwhistle et al. at Suno Observatory.

New MPECs on 9 September '07

Minor Planet Electronic Circulars

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

MPEC 2007-R34 time-stamped "06:07 UT" - Daily Orbit Update - see below
MPEC 2007-R35 time-stamped "15:38 UT" - 2006 UY64 - see below
MPEC 2007-R36 time-stamped "17:00 UT" - Comet P/2007 R1 (Larson)

MPEC 2007-R36 - "17:00 UT" - Comet P/2007 R1 (Larson)

PK07R010 P/2007 R1 (q=3.775 AU, Q=8.818 AU, TP=2009 Feb. 22.484 TT) from the Mt. Lemmon Survey (MLS) (Sept. 4.37-39p4 & 8.42-43p4), Farpoint Obs. (Sept. 8.29-31p3 & 9.28-29p3), RAS Obs. Mayhill (Sept. 8.30-32p2), Schiaparelli Obs. (Sept. 8.89p1, 8.99p1 & 9.07p1), Libbiano Obs. (Sept. 8.94-95p2), Frasso Sabino Obs. (Sept. 8.98p1), Skylive Obs. (Sept. 9.01-03p3), Remanzacco Obs. (Sept. 9.03p1 & 9.08p1), Masquefa Obs. (Sept. 9.07-15p3), CEAMIG-REA (Sept. 9.12-15p3), and Table Mtn. Obs. (Sept. 9.24-27p4)

MPEC 2007-R35 - "15:38 UT" - 2006 UY64

K06U64Y 2006 UY64 (H=19.5 ~426m) from Schiaparelli Obs. (Sept. 8.12-13p2 & 9.12-13p2)

<< DOU on 9 Sept. '07 >> MPEC 2007-R34 - "06:07 UT" - Daily Orbit Update

Observations of risk-listed objects
K07R02F 2007 RF2 (arc=4 days, H=20.4 ~282m) from Greiner Research Obs. (Sept. 8.34-35p3) and Saint-Barthelemy Obs. (Sept. 8.99-01p4)
Observations of small asteroids (H>22.0)
K07R01O 2007 RO1 (arc=4 days, H=23.8 ~59m) from Jim Young via Table Mtn. Obs. (Sept. 8.21-22p4)
Observations of other objects
K07R05F 2007 RF5 (arc=3 days, H=18.5 ~676m) from Greiner Research Obs. (Sept. 8.38-39p7)
K07P08E 2007 PE8 (arc=116 days, H=19.4 ~446m) from Peschiera del Garda Obs. (Sept. 6.88-91p5) and Remanzacco Obs. (Sept. 7.90p3)
K07L32R 2007 LR32 (arc=106 days, H=17.2 ~1.23 km) from Peschiera del Garda Obs. (Sept. 4.97-99p4) and Naef Obs. (Sept. 8.83-85p3)
D6849 136849 1998 CS1 from the Siding Spring Survey (SSS) (Sept. 8.56-58p4)
16636 16636 1993 QP from Castelmartini Obs. (Sept. 7.84-87p4)
03753 3753 Cruithne (1986 TO) from Atlante Obs. (Sept. 8.14-24p7)

Observers on 9 September '07

Eighteen observing facilities appear in today's MPECs.

Code	Observer / observatory
`J51`	Atlante Obs. in the Canary Islands, 1 in MPEC 2007-R34 -- 3753
`I77`	CEAMIG-REA in Brazil, 1 in MPEC 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1
`160`	Castelmartini Obs. in Italy, 1 in MPEC 2007-R34 -- 16636
`734`	Farpoint Obs. in Kansas, 1 in MPEC 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1
`157`	Frasso Sabino Obs. in Italy, 1 in MPEC 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1
`H51`	Greiner Research Obs. in Wisconsin, 2 in MPEC 2007-R34 -- 2007 RF5, 2007 RF2
`B33`	Libbiano Obs. in Italy, 1 in MPEC 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1
`232`	Masquefa Obs. in Spain, 1 in MPEC 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1
`G96`	Mt. Lemmon Survey in Arizona, 1 in MPEC 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1
`A13`	Naef Obs. in Switzerland, 1 in MPEC 2007-R34 -- 2007 LR32
`A53`	Peschiera del Garda Obs. in Italy, 2 in MPEC 2007-R34 -- 2007 PE8, 2007 LR32
`H06`	RAS Obs. Mayhill in New Mexico, 1 in MPEC 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1
`473`	Remanzacco Obs. in Italy, 2 in MPECs 2007-R34 & 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1, 2007 PE8
`B04`	Saint-Barthelemy Obs. in Italy, 1 in MPEC 2007-R34 -- 2007 RF2
`204`	Schiaparelli Obs. in Italy, 2 in MPECs 2007-R35 & 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1, 2006 UY64
`E12`	Siding Spring Survey in New South Wales, 1 in MPEC 2007-R34 -- 136849
`B40`	Skylive Obs. in Italy, 1 in MPEC 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1
`673`	Table Mtn. Obs. in southern California, 1 in MPEC 2007-R36 -- 2007 R1
`6735`	Jim Young via Table Mtn. Obs. in southern California, 1 in MPEC 2007-R34 -- 2007 RO1

Impact Risk Monitoring on 9 September '07

**Summary Risk Table for Risk Assessments Updated Today** (last checks: NEODyS at 2307 and JPL at 2356 UTC)
See the CRT page for a list of all objects rated recently as risks.
Note that the time horizon for JPL is 100 years from today and for NEODyS is now usually the year 2090.
For the latest official risk assessments, and for explanations of the terminology, see the JPL NEO Program Sentry and NEODyS CLOMON (backup) risk pages.
0000NNN000 Object	Risk Monitor	When Noted UTC	0000T0000 Year Range	VI #	000NN00 Prob Cum	T0000 PS Cum	T0000 PS Max	T S	Notes for Today's Latest Risk Assessments

2007 RF2	JPL	1510	2107	1	8.9e-10	-6.89	-6.89	0	JPL: "Analysis based on 27 observations spanning 3.5989 days (2007-Sep-05.41331 to 2007-Sep-09.01224)." Diameter approximately 0.280 km. from mean, weighted H=20.4.
2007 RF2	NEODyS	1510	R E M O V E D

Legend: VI# = VI count, Prob Cum = cumulative probability, PS Cum/Max = cumulative/maximum Palermo Scale, TS = Torino Scale

An impact solution, also known as a "virtual impactor" (VI), is not a prediction but rather a possibility derived from an orbit calculation that cannot be eliminated yet based on the existing data. Elimination can come quickly with just a little further observation or may take weeks or months, sometimes years. Once superceded or eliminated, a former impact solution has zero relevance to an object's risk. See Jon Giorgini's "Understanding Risk Pages" for more about this.

Chronology on 9 September '07

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

1819	Added link to news story, "World's largest radio telescope in peril" - see above
1818	Grabbed MPEC 2007-R36 - Comet P/2007 R1 (Larson) - see above
1702	Grabbed MPEC 2007-R35 - 2006 UY64 - see above
1557	Added MOS paper, "On the Distance to the Ophiuchus Star-Forming Region" - see above Added MOS paper, "The distance to the Orion Nebula" - see above
1510	Noted that JPL has updated its 2007 RF2 risk assessment - see above Noted that NEODyS has removed 2007 RF2 as an impact risk - see above Grabbed MPEC 2007-R34 - Daily Orbit Update - see above

http://www.HohmannTransfer.com/mn/07/07252_0909.htm
Publisher information, privacy statement, and disclaimer.
This page is © Copyright 2007 Columbine, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Any mentioned trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Various tabular formats and data used on this page are acknowledged as belonging to JPL, MPC, NEODyS, and/or others.
Do NOT copy, mirror, or embed this page, but you are welcome to link to it, and you may embed the RSS news feed. All information here is subject to very frequent change during the day of news compilation. Individuals may make copies for their own private, non-commercial use. Please report broken links or other problems with this page to <webmaster@hohmanntransfer.com> (HTML 4.01 validation).
Important updates to Major News About Minor Objects are flagged by RSS news feed (link)