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Contents  on 1 May '18

Asteroid/Comet Connection (A/CC) Resources:

The latest A/CC news is available via framed access, RSS news feed RSS news feed, or redirection.

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 through a calendar interface. To keep track of what's new each day, watch the Chronology section.

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Traffic Report  on 1 May '18

Two objects reported inside ten LD

Two Solar-System small bodies are known to be less than ten lunar distances (LD) from our home world today. 2018 HM2 is outbound from 8.73 to 8.91 LD and risk-listed intruder 2018 HW1 departs from our ten-LD traffic reporting "bubble," gliding away from 9.75 to 10.81 LD.

Neighborhood Traffic - sorted by Earth passage distance, grouped by 1.0, 2.41, 5.0 & 10.0 LD boundaries
Earth passage I D ~Size Distance today  Inside ten LD Notes
0.89 LD April 21 2018 HW1 22 m  9.75 to 10.81 LD April 12 - today intruder, NHATS target, exits ten LD, risk
8.72 LD April 30 2018 HM2 62 m  8.73 to 8.91 LD April 27 - May 4 NHATS target
Approaching (sorted by 10-LD bubble entry date)
6.2   LD May 8* 2016 JQ5 8 m  15.8 from 18.0 LD May 4 - 11 EPU +/- 14.00 hours*
9.65 LD May 7 1999 FN19 112 m  11.98 from 12.77 LD May 5 - 9 radar/NHATS target - DOU
6.48 LD May 9 388945 2008 TZ3 282 m  16.48 from 18.40 LD May 5 - 13 DOU
9.50 LD May 29 68347 2001 KB67 371 m  85.68 from 89.12 LD May 28 - 30 radar target
5.56 LD June 10 2018 EJ4 186 m  53.55 from 54.79 LD June 4 - 16 radar/NHATS target
8.96 LD June 11 2015 DP155 162 m  37.47 from 38.22 LD June 6 - 15 NHATS target
* EPU = Earth passage uncertainty

This report was generated at 1754 UTC with first follow-up in today's DOU MPEC for departed (and quite dim) risk-listed intruder 2018 EZ2, adding 35.79 days to its 1.17-day discovery arc. On March 14th this object went by us at 0.56 LD and passed the Moon at 0.53 LD. The DOU also has continuing follow-up for approaching objects 388945 2008 TZ3 and 1999 FN19.


Notes: Ten times the distance to the Moon (ten LD) has no astronomical importance but is a useful boundary for reporting about transient natural objects that approach our planet's gravitational sphere of influence (SOI), which has a radius of about 2.41 LD from Earth's center. This puts a focus on some of the most important and very best NEO observation work, representative of the much larger NEO discovery and tracking effort. Object temporal distances are derived by A/CC from JPL Horizons data. See also current sky chart and object details (alt-details), ephemerides, and today's timeline.

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NEOCP Activity  on 1 May '18

The MPC's NEO Confirmation Page has 7 listings

When last checked at 2358 UTC today, the Minor Planet Center's Near Earth Object discovery Confirmation Page (NEOCP) had seven objects listed. Of these, four were "one nighters."

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

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New MPECs  on 1 May '18

Minor Planet Electronic Circulars

As of last check at 2358 UTC, there has been one MPEC posted today from the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.


<< DOU on 1 May '18 >>  MPEC 2018-J01 - "12:10 UT" - Daily Orbit Update

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Observers  on 1 May '18

Thirteen observers appear in today's MPEC.

CodeObserver / observatory
H21Astronomical Research Obs. Westfield in Illinois, 6 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 2018 GH1, 2018 EA4, 2003 FU3, 490684, 331509, 159609
160Castelmartini Obs. in Italy, 8 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 2018 GY1, 2018 BY2, 2016 JP, 66251, 172034, 163243, 138847, 9856
309&Marco Micheli via Cerro Paranal in Chile, 1 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 2018 EZ2
K87Dettelbach Vineyard Obs. in Germany, 4 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 2016 JP, 388945, 9856, 1866
595Farra d'Isonzo Obs. in Italy, 1 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 1999 FN19
P93JAXA Space Tracking & Communications Center (JAXA STCC) in Japan, 5 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 2018 BY2, 2016 JP, 2013 US3, 138847, 9856
C95SATINO-1 in France, 1 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 1999 AF4
W883B. Lutkenhoner in Germany via Slooh.com Chile Obs. in Chile, 1 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 3552
W34Squirrel Valley Obs. in North Carolina, 1 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 138847
C36Starry Wanderer Obs. in Belarus, 1 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 2013 US3
Z52The Studios Obs., 1 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 138847
C51WISE in Earth polar orbit, 2 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 463664, 14402
E08Wobblesock Obs. in New South Wales, 3 in MPEC 2018-J01 -- 2018 GJ1, 2018 FY1, 2018 FN4
For a list of all participating observatories that have Web addresses, see A/CC's Observatory Links page.

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Impact Risk Monitoring  on 1 May '18

Summary Risk Table for Risk Assessments Updated Today   (last checks: NEODyS at 2358 UTC)
See the CRT page for a list of all objects rated recently as risks and our ephemerides page for a list of risk-listed objects under current observation.
The time horizon for JPL is 100 years from today and for NEODyS is usually the year 2090. Both also post impact solutions beyond 100 years for a few special objects.
For the latest official risk assessments, and for explanations of the terminology, see the NASA/JPL Sentry and NEODyS CLOMON2 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
2018 EZ2JPL Sentry16002056-211883.53915e-06-6.19-6.250JPL: Computed at 07:32 today Pacific time based on 88 observations spanning 36.961 days (2018-Mar-12.42083 to 2018-Apr-18.381692). Diameter approximately 0.017 km. from weighted mean H=26.54.
2014 HD198JPL Sentry16002025-2115786.6711881e-06-7.07-7.550JPL: Computed at 22:51 April 7th of 2017 Pacific time based on 12 observations spanning .96633 days (2014-Apr-25.13297 to 2014-Apr-26.0993). Diameter approximately 0.004 km. from weighted mean H=29.64.

Legend: VI# = VI count, Prob Cum = cumulative probability, PS Cum/Max = cumulative/maximum Palermo Scale, TS = Torino Scale (next 100 years)

An impact solution, also known as a "virtual impactor" (VI), is not a prediction but rather a possibility derived from a variant 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" to learn more.

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Chronology  on 1 May '18

Times are UTC for when items were noted or added by The Tracking News.

1754Generated Traffic Report
1600Noted that JPL Sentry has updated its 2014 HD198 risk assessment - see above
Noted that JPL Sentry has updated its 2018 EZ2 risk assessment - see above
Grabbed MPEC 2018-J01 - Daily Orbit Update - see above