Small near-Earth asteroid 2007 NL1 at discovery on July 11th, shown here in an A/CC composite from images posted with Quanzhi Ye's report about this discovery by the Lulin Sky Survey (LUSS), used with permission. These are 60-sec. exposures made with the Lulin Observatory 0.41m telescope in Taiwan. North is up, object motion 4.16"/min. PA 130.2 (toward the lower left), R magnitude ~20.1. See our report about this discovery below.
Contents on 14 July '07
- Minor-Object News -- three items
- Minor-Object Science -- none yet today
- IAU Minor Planet Center
- NEOCP Activity -- one listing: 1 updated
- New MPECs -- one MPEC
- Observers -- twelve observing facilities
- Impact Risk Monitoring -- nothing to report
- Chronology
Resources:
- Consolidated Risk Tables - CRT page
- Ephemerides for risk-rated objects
- Ephemerides for small asteroids
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 with a calendar interface. And use the all-up news archive to access news anytime since A/CC began in early 2002. To keep track of what's new each day, watch the Chronology section.
Minor-Object News on 14 July '07
- Amateur/professional NEA discovery: An object with the Lulin Sky Survey (LUSS) temporary discovery designation of YQ00uR was "Added July 13.06 UT" to the Minor Planet Center's NEO Confirmation Page (NEOCP) and by the end of the day UTC the object was announced in MPEC 2007-N39 officially designated as 2007 NL1. See discovery imagery above. It is a small asteroid, estimated to be on the order of 125 meters in diameter. And it is somewhat distant as small asteroids go, coming no closer to Earth than 40.5 lunar distances, according to JPL's current calculation -- too far away to be considered hazardous.
On his blog, Quanzhi Ye tells about the discovery and frustrating follow-up experience. "I never thought I'll miss the big surveys, I always regard them as big rivals, but on July 13 I found myself missing them! YQ00uR was running quickly in the sky and the uncertainty area kept growing. July 12/13 nights were cloudy and I could do nothing but [write] 'help needed' mails. All surveys were off for holiday due to monsoon season on southwest United States except Siding Spring Survey in Australia... Dr.McNaught replied [to] my mail very quickly, and the answer was simple: cloudy." Then, on the 13th, the skies cleared over Taiwan, and also over Tahiti where Tiki Observatory made confirmation. (In following the chronology, note that Quanzhi Ye's own time zone is eight hours ahead of UTC.)
LUSS describes itself as "a non-professional minor bodies search project" but uses professional facilities at Lulin Observatory on Mt. Front Lulin in Taiwan. Quanzhi Ye is an undergrad at Sun Yat-Sen University (in Guangzhou near the southeastern China coast) who runs LUSS from mainland China, specifying the observing runs and receiving back the results to reduce himself. The program began in March 2006 and this March the Planetary Society awarded him a Gene Shoemaker NEO Grant to buy a laptop computer and software to help in the work.
Asked about the distinction, he told A/CC that it "seems MPC and all others would count the discovery as 'professional.' Indeed, we use professional equipment, but we don't have professional guidance. The whole pipeline was developed by myself; the Lulin staff is only responsible for telescope operation. So you can treat it as 'an amateur using professional equipment.' But I'm working hard to make the pipeline 'professional,' and it's true that my dream is to be a professional astronomer." - "Giant Telescope Begins Work In Spain," AP at CBS News 14 July - Quote: "At 1 a.m. local time [this morning] on a crystal-clear night [the] Great Canary Telescope [GTC], one of the world's largest and most powerful, opened its shutters, turned its vast 34-foot-wide mirror toward the skies and captured its first light at a mountaintop on one of Spain's Canary Islands."
- "Telescopes Not Left Alone During Alambre Fire," KOLD-TV 12 July - Quote: "[During the wildfire nearby] telescope crews ... 'bagged optics, taped doors and the vents, anything that would allow sparks into the building'... On Wednesday Kitt Peak remained evacuated, but telescopes like the Bach Telescope [sic] ... had crews up on Kitt Peak, because ... 'They have to be maintained... They have to be cooled with nitrogen, they have to be calibrated, things like that, everyday.'" - Note: That's the 2.3m Bok Telescope, adjacent to the Spacewatch telescopes.
NEOCP Activity on 14 July '07
The MPC's NEO Confirmation Page has 1 listing: 1 updated
When last checked at 2358 UTC today, the Minor Planet Center's NEO discovery Confirmation Page (NEOCP) had one updated listing.
New MPECs on 14 July '07
Minor Planet Electronic Circulars
As of last check at 2358 UTC, there has been one MPEC issued today from the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
<< DOU on 14 July '07 >> MPEC 2007-N40 - "06:07 UT" - Daily Orbit Update
- Observations of small asteroids (H>22.0)
- K07N01L 2007 NL1 (arc=2 days, H=22.1 ~129m) from the Lulin Sky Survey (LUSS) (July 13.84p3)
- Observations of other objects
- K07M24B 2007 MB24 (i=47.7°, arc=20 days, H=18.5 ~676m) from Eschenberg Obs. (July 13.87p3)
- K07M20T 2007 MT20 (arc=19 days, H=18.6 ~645m) from Lumezzane Obs. (July 12.93-94p4)
- K07L32R 2007 LR32 (arc=49 days, H=17.2 ~1.23 km) from Lumezzane Obs. (July 13.06p4) and the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) (July 13.38-41p4)
- K07L15B 2007 LB15 (arc=31 days, H=19.4 ~446m) from Guidestar Obs. (July 13.91-93p3)
- K07L15A 2007 LA15 (arc=31 days, H=19.5 ~426m) from Stia Obs. (July 11.85-86p3) and Guidestar Obs. (July 13.88-90p3)
- K07L08V 2007 LV8 (arc=31 days, H=20.1 ~323m) from Lumezzane Obs. (July 12.96-98p4)
- K07L00F 2007 LF (arc=36 days, H=20.5 ~269m) from Stia Obs. (July 12.87-89p3)
- K07L00E 2007 LE (arc=24 days, H=19.2 ~490m) from the Siding Spring Survey (SSS) (July 1.41-42p8)
- K07DA3T 2007 DT103 (arc=138 days, H=19.4 ~446m) from CSS (July 14.17-18p4)
- K06Y02Y 2006 YY2 (arc=204 days, H=17.9 ~891m) from Petit Jean Mtn. South Obs. (PJMSO) (July 14.14p5)
- K06X00A 2006 XA (arc=224 days, H=17.3 ~1.17 km) from Lumezzane Obs. (July 13.02p4)
- K06K89E 2006 KE89 (i=45.1°, q=0.211 AU, arc=2 opp, H=16.5 ~1.70 km) from PJMSO (July 14.12p5)
- K03H02F 2003 HF2 (q=0.361 AU, arc=4 opp, H=19.6 ~407m) from Lumezzane Obs. (July 12.85p4), Santa Mama Obs. (July 12.89-91p5), New Millennium Obs. (July 12.89-95p6), and Eschenberg Obs. (July 13.86-87p7)
- K00L00L 2000 LL (arc=3 opp, H=19.1 ~513m) from PJMSO (July 14.15p4)
- J95L00G 1995 LG (i=43.6°, q=0.223 AU, arc=4 opp, H=18.7 ~616m) from Lumezzane Obs. (July 12.98-99p4)
- F9399 159399 1998 UL1 from PJMSO (July 14.12-13p5)
- E5656 145656 4788 P-L from San Benedetto Po Obs. (July 12.85p4), Eschenberg Obs. (July 13.84p3), and PJMSO (July 14.19p5)
- A8519 108519 2001 LF from Santa Mama Obs. (July 12.85-88p2)
- 87309 87309 2000 QP from Lumezzane Obs. (July 13.06-07p4)
- 86878 86878 2000 HD24 from Lumezzane Obs. (July 13.04-05p4)
- 85275 85275 1994 LY from San Benedetto Po Obs. (July 12.86p3), New Millennium Obs. (July 12.90-99p14), and Eschenberg Obs. (July 13.86p3)
- 18882 18882 1999 YN4 from Reedy Creek Obs. (July 12.60-63p2)
Observers on 14 July '07
Twelve observing facilities appear in today's MPECs.
| 703 | Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, 2 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2007 LR32, 2007 DT103 |
| 151 | Eschenberg Obs. in Switzerland, 4 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2007 MB24, 2003 HF2, 145656, 85275 |
| A17 | Guidestar Obs. in Germany, 2 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2007 LB15, 2007 LA15 |
| D35 | Lulin Sky Survey in Taiwan, 1 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2007 NL1 |
| 130 | Lumezzane Obs. in Italy, 8 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2007 MT20, 2007 LR32, 2007 LV8, 2006 XA, 2003 HF2, 1995 LG, 87309, 86878 |
| A24 | New Millennium Obs. in Italy, 2 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2003 HF2, 85275 |
| H45 | Petit Jean Mtn. South Obs. in Arkansas, 5 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2006 YY2, 2006 KE89, 2000 LL, 159399, 145656 |
| 428 | Reedy Creek Obs. in Queensland, 1 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 18882 |
| 434 | San Benedetto Po Obs. in Italy, 2 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 145656, 85275 |
| B38 | Santa Mama Obs. in Italy, 2 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2003 HF2, 108519 |
| E12 | Siding Spring Survey in New South Wales, 1 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2007 LE |
| A78 | Stia Obs. in Italy, 2 in MPEC 2007-N40 -- 2007 LA15, 2007 LF |
Impact Risk Monitoring on 14 July '07
At last check (NEODyS and JPL at 2357 UTC) there was no risk monitoring news to report yet today.
Chronology on 14 July '07
Times are UTC for when the items were noted or added by Major News.
| 2003 | Added news report, "Amateur/professional NEA discovery" |
| 1649 | Added link to news story, "Giant Telescope Begins Work In Spain" Added link to news story, "Telescopes Not Left Alone During Alambre Fire" |
| 1341 | Grabbed MPEC 2007-N40 - Daily Orbit Update - see above |
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