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The Ontario Sudbury impact structure, seen here in Space Shuttle SIR-B radar imaging from a NASA GSFC tutorial on "Remote Sensing of Craters," shows evidence of its great age and the geologic forces that have reshaped it from circular to ellipsoidal. New evidence of the impact has been found recently to the southwest in Minnesota -- see news below.

Contents  on 15 July '07

• Minor-Object News -- four items
• Minor-Object Science -- none yet today
• IAU Minor Planet Center
  • NEOCP Activity -- six listings: 2 new, 3 updated, 1 comet
  • New MPECs -- one MPEC
  • Observers -- twelve observing facilities
• Impact Risk Monitoring -- one object reported
• 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.

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Minor-Object News  on 15 July '07

• "Meteorite debris from 1.85 billion years ago found in NE Minn.," AP at West Central Tribune 15 July - Quote: "[Minnesota Geological Survey geologist Mark] Jirsa says the Gunflint area probably was in or near a shallow sea when the meteorite stuck. He says there are indications that a huge tsunami may have ripped up the sea bottom and seashore, mixing them with rocks fallen from the sky into the concrete-appearing geological mess he found." - Note: See an image of the Sudbury impact structure above.
• "RP at risk from asteroids," The Philippine Star at ABS-CBN 15 July - Quote: "Researchers in Britain have identified the Philippines as among 10 countries in the world 'most at risk' from being hit by small asteroids less than one kilometer in diameter, but the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Filipinos need not be alarmed."
• Distant EKOs: The July edition of Distant EKOs has been posted. In a tally of distant objects it reports the current count of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) to be "1054 (including Pluto)" and 199 Centaurs/scattered disk objects (SDOs). Abstracts, some with links to publicly-accessible preprints, are given for topics such as "Resonance Sticking in the Scattered Disk," "Dynamical Behaviour of Planetesimals Temporarily Captured by a Planet from Heliocentric orbits," and "Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Charon: Possible Evidence for Cryovolcanism on Kuiper Belt Objects." One paper reviews a previous interpretation of X-ray data as representing occultations by distant objects, and another examines the dynamics of the Kuiper Belt region between 33 and 63 AU through comparitive planetary system analysis.
• "NASA Ponders Human Mission to Moons of Mars," LiveScience.com 14 July - Quote: "NASA is ... co-sponsoring in early November the first international conference on sending robots and humans to Phobos and Deimos ... at the NASA Ames Research Center in California... Phobos and Deimos are thought by many scientists to be captured asteroids."

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Minor-Object Science  on 15 July '07

No science papers are known or prepared yet today.

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NEOCP Activity  on 15 July '07

The MPC's NEO Confirmation Page has 6 listings: 2 new, 3 updated, 1 comet

When last checked at 2356 UTC today, the Minor Planet Center's NEO discovery Confirmation Page (NEOCP) had two new, three updated, and one comet listings. Of these, three were "one nighters." So far Major News has counted a total of seven objects listed on the NEOCP at some point today.

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New MPECs  on 15 July '07

Minor Planet Electronic Circulars

As of last check at 2356 UTC, there has been one MPEC issued today from the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

<< DOU on 15 July '07 >>  MPEC 2007-N41 - "06:07 UT" - Daily Orbit Update

• Observations of risk-listed objects
• K07L19Q   2007 LQ19 (Q=4.245 AU, arc=30 days, H=17.8 ~933m) from Tiki Obs. (July 13.59-62p2)
• Observations of almost-small asteroids (21.7<H<=22.0)
• K07K02W   2007 KW2 (arc=51 days, H=22.0 ~135m) from Crimean Astrophysical Obs. (CrAO) (July 10.85-86p13 & 11.02p2)
• Observations of other objects
• K07N00Q   2007 NQ (arc=4 days, H=19.6 ~407m) from Astronomical Research Obs. (ARO) (July 14.17-18p3) and Klet Obs. (July 14.87-88p5)
• K07M24B   2007 MB24 (i=47.7°, arc=21 days, H=18.4 ~708m) from New Millennium Obs. (July 12.93-02p11) and Wildberg Obs. (July 14.93-94p4)
• K07M13L   2007 ML13 (arc=23 days, H=20.2 ~309m) from Guidestar Obs. (July 14.92-94p2 & 15.04p1)
• K07M04C   2007 MC4 (arc=25 days, H=21.1 ~204m) from ARO (July 14.13-14p5)
• K07M00R   2007 MR (arc=26 days, H=21.7 ~155m) from ARO (July 14.10-11p3)
• K07L32R   2007 LR32 (arc=49 days, H=17.2 ~1.23 km) from New Millennium Obs. (July 12.99-08p9)
• K07L08V   2007 LV8 (arc=33 days, H=20.1 ~323m) from the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) (July 14.26-27p3) and Guidestar Obs. (July 14.96-98p3)
• K07L00S   2007 LS (Q=4.536 AU, arc=36 days, H=17.7 ~977m) from ARO (July 14.13-14p2)
• K07K00J   2007 KJ (arc=59 days, H=18.8 ~589m) from ARO (July 14.11-13p3)
• K07G00C   2007 GC (arc=98 days, H=21.3 ~186m) from ARO (July 14.15-16p4)
• K07F01K   2007 FK1 (arc=120 days, H=20.2 ~309m) from Naef Obs. (July 14.00-01p2)
• K06X00A   2006 XA (arc=225 days, H=17.3 ~1.17 km) from Naef Obs. (July 14.89-91p3)
• K06WC7P   2006 WP127 (Q=4.477 AU, arc=3 opp, H=18.3 ~741m) from Guidestar Obs. (July 14.00-01p2 & 15.06p1)
• K06G00B   2006 GB (arc=2 opp, H=20.3 ~295m) from CSS (July 14.21-22p3)
• K04S09T   2004 ST9 (arc=2 opp, H=18.0 ~851m) from New Millennium Obs. (July 12.98-01p3)
• K04B11E   2004 BE11 (arc=2 opp, H=19.4 ~446m) from ARO (July 14.38-39p3)
• K03W25B   2003 WB25 (arc=3 opp, H=17.8 ~933m) from ARO (July 14.18-19p3)
• K01R17V   2001 RV17 (arc=2 opp, H=20.2 ~309m) from Buchloe Obs. (July 13.93p3)
• F9928   159928 2005 CV69 from CSS (July 14.17-18p4)
• D6818   136818 1997 MW1 from New Millennium Obs. (July 12.90-94p8)
• 85275   85275 1994 LY from Thousand Oaks Obs. (July 8.32p1, 8.38-40p2, 13.28p1, 13.36-40p2, 14.26p1 & 14.32-36p2)
• 24443   24443 2000 OG from Gualba Obs. (July 13.89p2)

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Observers  on 15 July '07

Twelve observing facilities appear in today's MPECs.

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Impact Risk Monitoring  on 15 July '07

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.

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Chronology  on 15 July '07

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