Hi all: I know that Rich Kolwalski slept through most of the initial excitement after he reported the discovery of 2008 TC3 to the Minor Planet Center, but I would not consider him automated!
Larry > > > Public Affairs > Sandia National Laboratories > > Media contact: > Neal Singer, (505) 845-7078 > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 25, 2009 > > We saw it coming: Asteroid monitored from outer space to ground impact > > Sandians Mark Boslough and Dick Spalding watch it in real time > > ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Reports by scientists of meteorites striking Earth in > the past have resembled police reports of so many muggings -- the > offenders > came out of nowhere and then disappeared into the crowd, making it > difficult > to get more than very basic facts. > > Now an international research team has been able to identify an asteroid > in > space before it entered Earth's atmosphere, enabling computers to > determine > its area of origin in the solar system as well as predict the arrival time > and location on Earth of its shattered surviving parts. > > "I would say that this work demonstrates, for the first time, the ability > of > astronomers to discover and predict the impact of a space object," says > Sandia National Laboratories researcher Mark Boslough, a member of the > research team. > > Perhaps more importantly, the event tested the ability of society to > respond > very quickly to a predicted impact, says Boslough. "In this case, it was > never a threat, so the response was scientific. Had it been deemed a > threat > -- a larger asteroid that would explode over a populated area -- an alert > could have been issued in time that could potentially save lives by > evacuating the danger zone or instructing people to take cover." > > The profusion of information in this case also helps meteoriticists learn > the orbits of parent bodies that yield various types of meteorites. > > Such knowledge could help future space missions explore or even mine the > asteroids in Earth-crossing orbits, Boslough says. > > The four-meter-diameter asteroid, called 2008 TC3, was initially sighted > by > the automated Catalina Sky Survey telescope at Mount Lemmon, Ariz., on > Oct. > 6. Numerous observatories, alerted to the invader, then imaged the object. > Computations correctly predicted impact would occur 19 hours after > discovery > in the Nubian Desert of northern Sudan. > > According to NASA's Near Earth Object program, "A spectacular fireball lit > up the predawn sky above Northern Sudan on October 7, 2008." > > A wide variety of analyses were performed while the asteroid was en route > and after its surviving pieces were located by meteorite hunters in an > intense search. > > Researchers, listed in the paper describing this work in the March 26 > issue > of the journal Nature, range from the SETI Institute, the University of > Khartoum, Juba University (Sudan), Sandia, Caltech, NASA Johnson Space > Center and NASA Ames, to other universities in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, > England, Czech Republic and the Netherlands. > > Sandia researcher Dick Spalding interpreted recorded data about the > atmospheric fireball, and Boslough estimated the aerodynamic pressure and > strength of the asteroid based on the estimated burst altitude of 36 > kilometers. > > Searchers have recovered 47 meteorites so far -- offshoots from the > disintegrating asteroid, mostly immolated by its encounter with > atmospheric > friction -- with a total mass of 3.95 kilograms. > > The analyzed material showed carbon-rich materials not yet represented in > meteorite collections, indicating that fragile materials still unknown may > account for some asteroid classes. Such meteorites are less likely to > survive due to destruction upon entry and weathering once they land on > Earth's surface. > > "Chunks of iron and hard rock last longer and are easier to find than > clumps > of soft carbonaceous materials," says Boslough. > > "We knew that locating an incoming object while still in space could be > done, but it had never actually been demonstrated until now," says > Boslough. > "In this post-rational age where scientific explanations and computer > models > are often derided as 'only theories,' it is nice to have a demonstration > like this." > > Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a > Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National > Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, > N.M., > and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national > security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic > competitiveness. > > IMAGE CAPTIONS: > > [Image 1: > http://www.sandia.gov/news/resources/releases/2009/images/asteroid_boslough.jpg > (4.7MB)] > Don't look back -- it may be gaining on you: Sandia's Mark Boslough > discusses aspects of asteroids (Photo by Randy Montoya) > > [Image 2: > http://www.sandia.gov/news/resources/releases/2009/images/asteroid_spalding.jpg > (1.5MB)] > Dick Spalding examines the night sky (Photo by Randy Montoya) > > ______________________________________________ > http://www.meteoritecentral.com > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > ______________________________________________ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
