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25143 Itokawa observed by the Akari infrared space telescope on July 26th. See more about this below. Credit: JAXA.

Contents  on 23 August '07

• Minor-Object News -- eight items
• Minor-Object Science -- three papers
• IAU Minor Planet Center
  • NEOCP Activity -- three listings: 1 new, 2 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

The latest news: framed access (best), RSS news feed (flags updates), or redirection - Note: A/CC has a main Web site and a backup site.

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 through a calendar interface. And use the all-up news archive to access news from any time 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 23 August '07

• "Akari's observations of asteroid Itokawa," ESA 23 Aug. - Quote: "The space-borne infrared observatory AKARI, observed asteroid Itokawa last month with its Infrared Camera. The data will be used to refine estimates of sizes of potentially hazardous asteroids in the future... The observation of Itokawa was carried out by the asteroids observation group in the AKARI Solar-System Object consortium led by Dr Sunao Hasegawa at the Institute for Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) in Japan." - Note: See an image above. {permalink}
• "Catch a falling star," Mail Tribune 23 Aug. - Quote: "A rare meteor shower is headed our way early on the morning of Sept. 1, and falling star fancier Chris Crawford wants your help in tracking its progress -- if you have a laptop computer and are willing to be out of bed at 4:36 a.m., that is." - Note: See A/CC's August 7th report for links and more info. {permalink}
  • "2000-Year-Old Meteors to Rain Down on August 31, 2007," Peter Jenniskens/SETI Inst. at Space.com 23 Aug. - Quote: "Jon Giorgini of JPL/Caltech has identified observations of Comet Kiess when it returned in 1911. The orbit is now better determined than before and calculating backwards in time puts the comet near Earth's orbit in 4 A.D., give or take 40 years... Jeremie Vaubaillon of Caltech calculated where the dust would end up at Earth's orbit on September 1, 2007, if it was ejected in 4 A.D. and he found that, indeed, the dust trail will be in Earth's path. The peak is expected at 11:33 UT, or 4:33 a.m. PDT, give or take 20 minutes." {permalink}
• "Basaltic bodies baffle astronomers," Europlanet at Astronomy magazine 22 Aug. - Quote: "Until recently, most of the known basaltic asteroids, classified as V-type, were thought to be fragments of Vesta... Since 2001, several V-type asteroids have been identified as not belonging to the Vesta family." - Note: Some are some unexplained illustrations for this news release, but see also Space.com's Tuesday report. {permalink}
• "Palomar Observatory's Sky Survey is the Cosmic Canvas in the New Google Sky," Caltech 22 Aug. - Quote: "The basic layer of the Sky in Google Earth images is derived from the digital versions of the sky surveys conducted by astronomers in the 1980s and 1990s at Caltech's Palomar Observatory in the northern hemisphere and at the Anglo-Australian Observatory in the southern hemisphere... Google's technology enables a creation of layers, popularly known as 'mashups,' where lists of particularly interesting locations can be attached to the maps. One such application is released today by a team of scientists at Caltech's Center for Advanced Computing Research as a part of the center's VOEventNet project [KMZ file]. The goal of this project is to enable automated dissemination and follow-up of various transient phenomena in the night sky within minutes of their detection." {permalink}
  • "'Scuse me while Google kisses the sky," Computerworld IT Blogwatch 23 Aug. - Note: This is a collection of links and excerpts from various blog reports, including "The Birth of GoogleSky: First Contact" by insider Alberto Conti about how all this got started, and "Google Sky" by Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy, who writes "I don't like it. Well, to be clear, I don't like it yet." (He has gotten some interesting and useful feedback pro and con.) {permalink}
• "Tougher Cameras Designed to Withstand Space Radiation," Space.com 22 Aug. - Quote: "Our detector converts the analog signal to a digital number within the pixel... Radiation does not have time to affect the signal. And once the data is digitized it's essentially impossible to pick up noise." {permalink}
  • "New Imaging Detectors Could Take Snapshots from Deep Space," RIT 14 Aug. - Quote: "The lightweight device will be smaller and consume less power than technology currently in use. The novel readout circuitry design will give the device a radiation tolerance not possible in standard optical detectors... The new imaging detector under development will boast a dynamic range and greater short wavelength sensitivity... The detector might someday be used to capture hyperspectral imaging [taking pictures] of every wavelength at every pixel." {permalink}

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Minor-Object Science  on 23 August '07

• "Star and Planet Formation with ALMA: an Overview" by van Dishoeck, Ewine F. with Jes K. Jorgensen, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 23 Aug. - Quote: "Submillimeter observations with ALMA will be the essential next step in our understanding of how stars and planets form. Key projects range from detailed imaging of the collapse of pre-stellar cores and measuring the accretion rate of matter onto deeply embedded protostars, to unravelling the chemistry and dynamics of high-mass star-forming clusters and high-spatial resolution studies of protoplanetary disks down to the 1 AU scale." {permalink}
• "The evolution of stars in the Taurus-Auriga T association" by Bertout, C. with L. Siess & S. Cabrit, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 23 Aug. - Quote: "[Recently] individual parallaxes were determined for many stars of the Taurus-Auriga T association... We use these new parallaxes to re-address the issue of the relationship between classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs) and weak-emission line T Tauri stars (WTTSs)... The observed mass and age distributions of both T Tauri subclasses can be understood in the framework of a simple disk evolution model, assuming that the CTTSs evolve into WTTSs when their disks are fully accreted by the stars." {permalink}
• "Molecular Line Observations of the Small Protostellar Group L1251B" by Lee, Jeong-Eun with James Di Francesco, Tyler L. Bourke & 2 others, abstract & PDF at arXiv.org 23 Aug. - Quote: "We present molecular line observations of L1251B, a small group of pre- and protostellar objects, and its immediate environment in the dense C18O core L1251E... The single-dish data of L1251B described here show very complex kinematics including infall, rotation and outflow motions, and the interferometer data reveal these in greater detail." {permalink}

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NEOCP Activity  on 23 August '07

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

When last checked at 2354 UTC today, the Minor Planet Center's NEO discovery Confirmation Page (NEOCP) had one new and two updated listings. Of these, one was a "one nighter." So far Major News has counted a total of five objects listed on the NEOCP at some point today.

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

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New MPECs  on 23 August '07

Minor Planet Electronic Circulars

As of last check at 2354 UTC, there has been one MPEC issued today from the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

<< DOU on 23 Aug. '07 >>  MPEC 2007-Q17 - "06:09 UT" - Daily Orbit Update

• Observations of small asteroids (H>22.0)
• K07O09R   2007 OR9 (arc=29 days, H=22.1 ~129m) from Bergisch Gladbach Obs. (Aug. 20.92p1 & 20.97-00p3)
• Observations of other objects
• K07Q02K   2007 QK2 (arc=1 day, H=20.5 ~269m) from Astronomical Research Obs. (ARO) (Aug. 22.18-20p4)
• K07Q02A   2007 QA2 (arc=6 days, H=20.8 ~234m) from Petit Jean Mtn. South Obs. (PJMSO) (Aug. 22.34-36p10)
• K07P28F   2007 PF28 (arc=8 days, H=19.0 ~537m) from PJMSO (Aug. 22.29p8), Wildberg Obs. (Aug. 22.82-83p6), and Stammersdorf Obs. (Aug. 22.84-86p6)
• K07P11U   2007 PU11 (Q=4.384 AU, arc=3 opp, H=16.4 ~1.78 km) from Hadano Obs. (Aug. 15.66-68p4)
• K07P09P   2007 PP9 (arc=11 days, H=21.3 ~186m) from Desert Moon Obs. (Aug. 22.30-31p3), LINEAR (Aug. 22.32-37p5), and PJMSO (Aug. 22.40p6)
• K07P08E   2007 PE8 (arc=11 days, H=19.5 ~426m) from Hadano Obs. (Aug. 14.53-54p5) and PJMSO (Aug. 22.29-31p8)
• K07P08B   2007 PB8 (arc=12 days, H=20.8 ~234m) from Desert Moon Obs. (Aug. 22.28-29p3)
• K07P08A   2007 PA8 (Q=4.692 AU, arc=13 days, H=15.7 ~2.45 km, q=0.947 AU) from Desert Moon Obs. (Aug. 22.25p1)
• K07P06F   2007 PF6 (arc=14 days, H=20.7 ~245m) from Desert Moon Obs. (Aug. 22.20p1)
• K07N05C   2007 NC5 (q=0.277 AU, Q=4.617 AU, arc=49 days, H=18.0 ~851m) from Hadano Obs. (Aug. 15.61p2) and PJMSO (Aug. 22.33-34p5)
• K07M24B   2007 MB24 (i=47.7°, arc=59 days, H=18.2 ~776m) from ARO (Aug. 22.14-17p3)
• K07L32R   2007 LR32 (arc=89 days, H=17.2 ~1.23 km) from Hadano Obs. (Aug. 15.58-59p5) and PJMSO (Aug. 22.32-33p6)
• K07L19Q   2007 LQ19 (Q=4.246 AU, arc=70 days, H=17.6 ~1.02 km) from Desert Moon Obs. (Aug. 22.42-46p3)
• K07K04N   2007 KN4 (Q=5.444 AU, arc=94 days, H=17.0 ~1.35 km) from Desert Moon Obs. (Aug. 22.33-36p3)
• K07DA3T   2007 DT103 (arc=177 days, H=19.2 ~490m) from PJMSO (Aug. 22.39-40p5)
• K07D08K   2007 DK8 (arc=186 days, H=19.0 ~537m) from LINEAR (Aug. 22.32-37p5)
• K07C26K   2007 CK26 (arc=2 opp, H=19.0 ~537m) from PJMSO (Aug. 22.27-28p7)
• K06A02T   2006 AT2 (Q=4.330 AU, arc=3 opp, H=16.7 ~1.55 km) from ARO (Aug. 22.26-29p3 at V=22.2-3)
• K04O11T   2004 OT11 (arc=3 opp, H=17.3 ~1.17 km) from Desert Moon Obs. (Aug. 22.16p3)
• K03SM2W   2003 SW222 (arc=3 opp, H=17.2 ~1.23 km) from PJMSO (Aug. 22.37p5)
• K03B47T   2003 BT47 (arc=3 opp, H=17.5 ~1.07 km) from ARO (Aug. 22.31-33p3 at V=22.2)
• K02N04N   2002 NN4 (arc=4 opp, H=20.0 ~339m) from Hadano Obs. (Aug. 15.63-65p4) and PJMSO (Aug. 22.31-32p5)
• K01L06E   2001 LE6 (q=0.370 AU, arc=5 opp, H=17.8 ~933m) from Desert Moon Obs. (Aug. 22.38-40p3)
• J99J03U   1999 JU3 (arc=4 opp, H=19.3 ~467m) from Hadano Obs. (Aug. 14.68-70p4), Bisei Spaceguard Center (Bisei) (Aug. 17.65-79p72 & 20.50-56p37), and PJMSO (Aug. 22.38-39p5)
• J99D07B   1999 DB7 (arc=3 opp, H=19.9 ~355m) from LINEAR (Aug. 22.26-31p5)
• J97E30T   1997 ET30 (arc=8 opp, H=17.0 ~1.35 km) from the Spacewatch 0.9m telescope (Aug. 22.41-43p3)
• F4007   154007 2002 BY from New Millennium Obs. (April 11.95-00p4)
• E5656   145656 4788 P-L from PJMSO (Aug. 22.23p5)
• 87309   87309 2000 QP from PJMSO (Aug. 22.24-25p5) and Gualba Obs. (Aug. 22.81p4)
• 86324   86324 1999 WA2 from PJMSO (Aug. 22.22p5)
• 86039   86039 1999 NC43 from New Millennium Obs. (April 11.85-89p4)
• 54686   54686 2001 DU8 from LINEAR (Aug. 22.38-43p4)
• 21277   21277 1996 TO5 from LINEAR (Aug. 22.22-26p4)
• 16636   16636 1993 QP from LINEAR (Aug. 22.26-31p5)
• 05626   5626 1991 FE from New Millennium Obs. (April 11.87-89p2)
• 05143   5143 Heracles (1991 VL) from LINEAR (Aug. 22.26-31p5)
• 04544   4544 Xanthus (1989 FB) from New Millennium Obs. (April 11.94-99p4)
• 04183   4183 Cuno (1959 LM) from LINEAR (Aug. 22.26-31p5)
• 04055   4055 Magellan (1985 DO2) from New Millennium Obs. (April 11.94-99p4)
• 03554   3554 Amun (1986 EB) from New Millennium Obs. (April 11.83-85p2)
• 03103   3103 Eger (1982 BB) from New Millennium Obs. (April 11.88-99p8)
• 01866   1866 Sisyphus (1972 XA) from New Millennium Obs. (April 11.85-87p2)
• 01627   1627 Ivar (1929 SH) from New Millennium Obs. (April 11.85-87p2)

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Observers  on 23 August '07

Twelve observing facilities appear in today's MPECs.

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Impact Risk Monitoring  on 23 August '07

At last check (NEODyS and JPL at 2354 UTC) there was no risk monitoring news to report yet today. See the CRT for activity in the last month.

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Chronology  on 23 August '07

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