The NASA Dawn Main-Belt asteroid mission reports that last week "the solar arrays were attached to the spacecraft and the system for deploying them in space was given one final test, which went very smoothly." Here Astrotech "workers check the Dawn spacecraft after testing the deployment of its more than 32-foot-long solar panels on one side." Credit: NASA/George Shelton.
Contents on 30 May '07
- Minor-Object News -- two items
- Minor-Object Science -- one paper
- IAU Minor Planet Center
- NEOCP Activity -- two listings: 1 updated, 1 comet
- New MPECs -- three MPECs
- Observers -- six observing facilities
- Impact Risk Monitoring -- one object reported
- 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.
Minor-Object News on 30 May '07
- "Government of Canada supports campaign against light pollution by ASTROLab of Mount Megantic," Natural Resources Canada 30 May - Quote: "The goals of the ASTROLab campaign dovetail perfectly with the ecoENERGY Initatives and with our intention to develop national standards for lighting efficiency."
- "Study: Comet Wiped Out First Americans," Discovery Channel 30 May - Quote: "While intriguing, the controversial theory has raised widespread skepticism among scientists."
Minor-Object Science on 30 May '07
- "The AU Microscopii Debris Disk: Multiwavelength Imaging and Modeling" by Fitzgerald, Michael P. with Paul G. Kalas, Gaspard Duchene, Christophe Pinte & James R. Graham, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 30 May - Quote: "AU Microscopii (GJ 803) is a compelling object to study in the context of disk evolution across different spectral types, as it is an M dwarf whose near edge-on disk may be directly compared to that of its A5V sibling beta Pic."
NEOCP Activity on 30 May '07
The MPC's NEO Confirmation Page has 2 listings: 1 updated, 1 comet
When last checked at 2356 UTC today, the Minor Planet Center's NEO discovery Confirmation Page (NEOCP) had one updated and one comet listing. Of these, none were "one nighters."
New MPECs on 30 May '07
Minor Planet Electronic Circulars
There were three MPECs issued this day from the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- MPEC 2007-K67 time-stamped "06:09 UT" - Daily Orbit Update - see below
- MPEC 2007-K68 time-stamped "22:30 UT" - Comets C/2007 D5, 2007 E5, 2007 F2, 2007 F3 (SOHO) - see below
- MPEC 2007-K69 time-stamped "22:37 UT" - Comets C/2007 F4, 2007 F5, 2007 G2, 2007 H4, 2007 H5 (SOHO)
MPEC 2007-K69 - "22:37 UT" - Comets C/2007 F4, 2007 F5, 2007 G2, 2007 H4, 2007 H5 (SOHO)
- CK07H050 C/2007 H5 from the LASCO Coronagraph 2 on the Solar & Heliospheric Obs. (SOHO) (April 20.74-87p18)
- CK07H040 C/2007 H4 from SOHO C2 (April 18.96-03p12)
- CK07G020 C/2007 G2 from SOHO C2 (April 8.02p2 & 8.06-14p14)
- CK07F050 C/2007 F5 from SOHO C2 (March 30.12-20p14)
- CK07F040 C/2007 F4 from the LASCO Coronagraph 3 on the Solar & Heliospheric Obs. (SOHO) (March 28.49-53p4 & 28.57-70p12) and SOHO C2 (March 28.50-62p16)
MPEC 2007-K68 - "22:30 UT" - Comets C/2007 D5, 2007 E5, 2007 F2, 2007 F3 (SOHO)
- CK07F030 C/2007 F3 from SOHO C3 (March 27.45-53p10 & 27.60-93p32) and SOHO C2 (March 27.98-08p12)
- CK07F020 C/2007 F2 from SOHO C3 (March 20.90p2, 21.10-28p20, 21.32-40p10, 21.45-53p10, 21.57-86p28, 21.90-03p14 & 22.07-10p4) and SOHO C2 (March 22.10-20p10)
- CK07E050 C/2007 E5 from SOHO C3 (March 9.72-86p16)
- CK07D050 C/2007 D5 from SOHO C3 (Feb. 18.82-97p18)
<< DOU on 30 May '07 >> MPEC 2007-K67 - "06:09 UT" - Daily Orbit Update
- Observations of small asteroids (H>22.0)
- K06Y00A 2006 YA (arc=21 days, H=23.1 ~81m) from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 25.88p2)
- Observations of other objects
- K07K04N 2007 KN4 (Q=5.193 AU, arc=9 days, H=16.9 ~1.41 km) from Desert Moon Obs. (May 29.38-39p2)
- K07J40E 2007 JE40 (arc=14 days, H=20.1 ~323m) from Desert Moon Obs. (May 29.24-27p3)
- K07J22H 2007 JH22 (arc=17 days, H=21.7 ~155m) from Desert Moon Obs. (May 29.30-34p3)
- K07J20Z 2007 JZ20 (i=40.5°, arc=19 days, H=18.4 ~708m) from Great Shefford Obs. (May 29.94-95p3)
- K07H82X 2007 HX82 (Q=4.092 AU, arc=33 days, H=20.4 ~282m) from Desert Moon Obs. (May 29.20-22p3)
- K07F01E 2007 FE1 (arc=73 days, H=18.9 ~562m) from Desert Moon Obs. (May 29.15-17p2)
- K07D08K 2007 DK8 (arc=102 days, H=19.0 ~537m) from Great Shefford Obs. (May 29.97-98p2)
- K06X01J 2006 XJ1 (arc=59 days, H=21.5 ~170m) from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 26.07-08p3)
- K06UL6N 2006 UN216 (Q=5.188 AU, arc=164 days, H=18.9 ~562m) from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 23.94p2, 2006 Dec. 24.05p1 & 2006 Dec. 25.98p3)
- K06U00M 2006 UM (arc=210 days, H=18.5 ~676m) from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 24.89p1 & 2006 Dec. 25.91p3)
- K06S07H 2006 SH7 (arc=2 opp, H=19.8 ~371m) from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 25.93p1)
- K04Y01G 2004 YG1 (arc=2 opp, H=21.5 ~170m) from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 23.91p1, 2006 Dec. 24.01p1 & 2006 Dec. 24.87p3)
- K02K04F 2002 KF4 (i=37.2°, Q=4.571 AU, arc=3 opp, H=17.2 ~1.23 km) from Carmelita Obs. (May 29.89p3)
- K02A11N 2002 AN11 (arc=2 opp, H=18.2 ~776m) from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 21.89-91p3)
- K00L00L 2000 LL (arc=3 opp, H=19.0 ~537m) from the Siding Spring Survey (SSS) (May 19.47-53p4)
- E3381 143381 2003 BC21 from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 23.98-02p3, 2006 Dec. 24.07p1, 2006 Dec. 24.95p1, 2006 Dec. 25.90p1 & 2006 Dec. 25.96p1)
- E1018 141018 2001 WC47 from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 24.02p2, 2006 Dec. 24.07-08p2, 2006 Dec. 24.88p3 & 2006 Dec. 25.07p3)
- D7099 137099 1998 YW3 from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 25.98p2 & 2006 Dec. 26.88p2)
- D7084 137084 1998 XS16 from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 24.06p1, 2006 Dec. 25.93p1 & 2006 Dec. 26.92p1)
- A8519 108519 2001 LF from SSS (May 19.46-53p4)
- 96315 96315 1997 AP10 from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 21.92p1)
- 16834 16834 1997 WU22 from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 24.03p1)
- 01943 1943 Anteros (1973 EC) from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 26.00p1)
- 01627 1627 Ivar (1929 SH) from New Millennium Obs. (2006 Dec. 23.97p1, 2006 Dec. 25.96p1 & 2006 Dec. 26.95p1)
Observers on 30 May '07
Six observing facilities appeared in this day's MPECs.
| B20 | Carmelita Obs. in Spain, 1 in MPEC 2007-K67 -- 2002 KF4 |
| 448 | Desert Moon Obs. in New Mexico, 5 in MPEC 2007-K67 -- 2007 KN4, 2007 JE40, 2007 JH22, 2007 HX82, 2007 FE1 |
| J95 | Great Shefford Obs. in England, 2 in MPEC 2007-K67 -- 2007 JZ20, 2007 DK8 |
| A24 | New Millennium Obs. in Italy, 15 in MPEC 2007-K67 -- 2006 YA, 2006 XJ1, 2006 UN216, 2006 UM, 2006 SH7, 2004 YG1, 2002 AN11, 143381, 141018, 137099, 137084, 96315, 16834, 1943, 1627 |
| E12 | Siding Spring Survey in New South Wales, 2 in MPEC 2007-K67 -- 2000 LL, 108519 |
| 2492 | LASCO Coronagraph 2 via the Solar & Heliospheric Obs. in Earth-Sun L1 HALO orbit, 7 in MPECs 2007-K68 & 2007-K69 -- C/2007 H5, C/2007 H4, C/2007 G2, C/2007 F5, C/2007 F4, C/2007 F3, C/2007 F2 |
| 2493 | LASCO Coronagraph 3 via the Solar & Heliospheric Obs. in Earth-Sun L1 HALO orbit, 5 in MPECs 2007-K68 & 2007-K69 -- C/2007 F4, C/2007 F3, C/2007 F2, C/2007 E5, C/2007 D5 |
Impact Risk Monitoring on 30 May '07
| 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 |
| 2004 XN44 | JPL | 0509 | 2009-2063 | 9 | 5.3e-09 | -4.08 | -4.50 | 0 | JPL: "Analysis based on 17 observations spanning 1.9567 days (2004-Dec-13.253512 to 2004-Dec-15.210231)." Diameter approximately 0.748 km. from mean, weighted H=18.3. |
Legend: VI# = VI count, Prob Cum = cumulative probability, PS Cum/Max = cumulative/maximum Palermo Scale, TS = Torino Scale
For a list of all risk-rated objects recently in view, see our ephemerides page.
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 all this.
Chronology on 30 May '07
Times are UTC for when the items were noted by Major News.
| 2357 | Grabbed MPEC 2007-K68 - Comets C/2007 D5, 2007 E5, 2007 F2, 2007 F3 (SOHO) - see above Grabbed MPEC 2007-K69 - Comets C/2007 F4, 2007 F5, 2007 G2, 2007 H4, 2007 H5 (SOHO) - see above |
| 1919 | Added link to news story, "Study: Comet Wiped Out First Americans" Added link to news story, "Government of Canada supports campaign against light pollution by ASTROLab of Mount Megantic" |
| 1324 | Grabbed MPEC 2007-K67 - Daily Orbit Update - see above |
| 0510 | Added MOS paper, "The AU Microscopii Debris Disk: Multiwavelength Imaging and Modeling" - see above |
| 0509 | Noted that JPL has updated its 2004 XN44 risk assessment - see above |
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