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On January 2nd (Pacific Time) the NASA/JPL NEO Program Office reported that Magdalena Ridge "observations for asteroid 2007 WD5 taken on December 29 through January 2 have been used to improve the accuracy of the asteroid's orbit ... causing the Mars impact probability to decrease slightly to 3.6% (about one chance in 28)." See the DOU MPECs for January 1st and today plus earlier news links here and here. This NASA/JPL illustration of positional possibilities is from Dec. 21st.

Contents  on 3 January '08

• IAU Minor Planet Center
  • NEOCP Activity -- four listings: 1 new, 3 updated
  • New MPECs -- two MPECs
  • Observers -- 36 observing facilities
• Impact Risk Monitoring -- five objects
• Chronology

Resources:

• Consolidated Risk Tables - the CRT page
• Earth's Busy Neighborhood Traffic Report
• Ephemerides for risk-rated and nearby objects
• Old & new CRT Archive
• Old News Archive & Small Objects Archive

The latest A/CC news is available via framed access,  RSS news feed, or redirection. - Note: A/CC has a main Web site and also a backup site with its own duplicate RSS news feed.

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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NEOCP Activity  on 3 January '08

The MPC's NEO Confirmation Page has 4 listings: 1 new, 3 updated

When last checked at 2354 UTC today, the Minor Planet Center's NEO discovery Confirmation Page (NEOCP) had one new and three updated listings. Of these, two were "one nighters."

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

<<   Top | Contents | NEOCP | MPECs | Observers | Risks | Chronology | Index   >>

New MPECs  on 3 January '08

Minor Planet Electronic Circulars

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

• MPEC 2008-A20 time-stamped "07:08 UT" - Daily Orbit Update - see below
• MPEC 2008-A21 time-stamped "19:59 UT" - Comet 8P/TUTTLE

MPEC 2008-A21 - "19:59 UT" - Comet 8P/TUTTLE

• 0008P   8P/Tuttle (i=55.0°, q=1.027 AU, Q=10.376 AU, TP=2008 Jan. 27.02282 TT) from Geisei Obs. (Dec. 6.44p1, 7.41-42p2, 14.40p1 & 30.41p3), Sabadell Obs. (Dec. 27.77p3), Lumezzane Obs. (Dec. 29.77p4), Green Island Obs. (Dec. 30.72-75p2), La Murta Obs. (Dec. 30.79-80p3), Santa Pola Obs. (Dec. 30.81p3), La Vara Obs. (Dec. 30.89p3 & Jan. 2.81p3), Mataro Obs. (Dec. 30.91-95p3), Monte Deva Obs. (Dec. 30.92p5), Suno Obs. (Dec. 31.02p3), CAST Obs. (Dec. 31.72p1 & Jan. 1.80p1), Chante-Perdrix Obs. (Dec. 31.73-74p3 & Jan. 1.75-76p3), San Vito Obs. (Dec. 31.74-75p3), Malaga Obs. (Dec. 31.82-83p3), Desert Moon Obs. (Jan. 1.22-24p5), Montcabre Obs. (Jan. 1.74p3), Carmelita Obs. (Jan. 1.75p3), Atlante Obs. (Jan. 1.93-94p3 & 2.86-87p3), Petit Jean Mtn. South Obs. (PJMSO) (Jan. 2.11-12p8 & 3.12-13p8), Hiratsuka Obs. (Jan. 2.51p3), Vitebsk Obs. (Jan. 2.74-75p5), Great Shefford Obs. (Jan. 2.76p3), Montana Blanca Obs. (Jan. 2.82p4), Remanzacco Obs. (Jan. 2.86p2), Nazaret Obs. (Jan. 2.90-91p3), and Greiner Research Obs. (Jan. 3.10p5)

<< DOU on 3 Jan. '08 >>  MPEC 2008-A20 - "07:08 UT" - Daily Orbit Update

• Observations of risk-listed objects
• K07Y56S   2007 YS56 (small asteroid, arc=3 days, H=25.7 ~25m) from Gnosca Obs. (Dec. 31.87-88p2) and the Spacewatch 1.8m telescope (Jan. 3.11-12p3)
• Observations of recently (no longer) risk-listed objects
• K07Y29V   2007 YV29 (arc=6 days, H=18.8 ~589m) from Greiner Research Obs. (Jan. 3.13-14p9)
• K07Y00Z   2007 YZ (arc=16 days, H=19.7 ~389m) from Hamamatsu-Yuto Obs. (Jan. 2.51-52p4 & 2.65p3), Atlante Obs. (Jan. 2.99-01p3), and Greiner Research Obs. (Jan. 3.08p10)
• Observations of small asteroids (H>22.0)
• K07W05D   2007 WD5 (Q=4.074 AU, arc=55 days, H=24.3 ~47m) from Magdalena Ridge Obs. (MRO) (Jan. 2.28p1 at R=23.4 & 2.33p1 at R=23.6)
• Observations of other objects
• K08A00D   2008 AD (arc=2 days, H=20.2 ~309m) from Andrushivka Obs. (Jan. 2.74-75p5) and Greiner Research Obs. (Jan. 3.14-16p7)
• K07Y01F   2007 YF1 (Q=4.002 AU, arc=15 days, H=18.6 ~645m) from Lulin Minor Bodies Tracking (LIMIT) (Dec. 31.71-73p3)
• K07Y00K   2007 YK (arc=17 days, H=17.5 ~1.07 km) from PJMSO (Jan. 2.48-49p6)
• K07X16H   2007 XH16 (arc=25 days, H=19.7 ~389m) from Greiner Research Obs. (Jan. 2.00-01p9)
• K07V07Y   2007 VY7 (arc=2 opp, H=19.6 ~407m) from the Siding Spring Survey (SSS) (Dec. 14.44p2)
• K07V06T   2007 VT6 (arc=41 days, H=20.3 ~295m) from SSS (Dec. 14.45p1)
• K07V04Q   2007 VQ4 (arc=3 opp, H=15.8 ~2.34 km, q=1.271 AU) from PJMSO (Jan. 2.45-47p7) and Greiner Research Obs. (Jan. 3.11-12p9)
• K07P11U   2007 PU11 (Q=4.384 AU, arc=3 opp, H=16.3 ~1.86 km) from PJMSO (Jan. 2.09p5)
• K06UL6S   2006 US216 (IEO, q=0.278 AU, Q=0.995 AU, arc=3 opp, H=19.8 ~371m) from SSS (Dec. 14.44-45p2)
• K06B00G   2006 BG (arc=3 opp, H=18.6 ~645m) from the Spacewatch 0.9m telescope (Dec. 30.24-27p3)
• K06A00D   2006 AD (i=55.0°, arc=3 opp, H=16.7 ~1.55 km) from SSS (Dec. 31.53p1)
• K05X08K   2005 XK8 (arc=2 opp, H=19.8 ~371m) from PJMSO (Jan. 2.04p6)
• K05X01D   2005 XD1 (arc=2 opp, H=19.3 ~467m) from PJMSO (Jan. 2.10p6) and Greiner Research Obs. (Jan. 3.01-03p9)
• K05W56J   2005 WJ56 (arc=3 opp, H=17.9 ~891m) from PJMSO (Jan. 2.42-43p6) and Greiner Research Obs. (Jan. 3.11p10)
• K05W04K   2005 WK4 (arc=3 opp, H=20.2 ~309m) from the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) (Jan. 3.09-10p4)
• K05T45U   2005 TU45 (arc=3 opp, H=17.0 ~1.35 km) from PJMSO (Jan. 2.41-42p5) and Greiner Research Obs. (Jan. 3.21-23p9)
• K04X60Y   2004 XY60 (q=0.130 AU, arc=3 opp, H=19.0 ~537m) from SSS (Dec. 14.51p2)
• K03B84H   2003 BH84 (arc=2 opp, H=16.9 ~1.41 km) from Timberlake Obs. (Jan. 1.09-12p3), PJMSO (Jan. 2.08-09p6), and CSS (Jan. 3.18-20p4)
• K00C59H   2000 CH59 (arc=3 opp, H=19.8 ~371m) from PJMSO (Jan. 2.44p5)
• H0891   170891 2004 TY16 from Hamamatsu-Yuto Obs. (Jan. 2.67-69p9)
• F4347   154347 2002 XK4 from PJMSO (Jan. 2.49p5)
• F3591   153591 2001 SN263 from PJMSO (Jan. 2.05-07p5)
• E4411   144411 2004 EW9 from Spacewatch 0.9m (Dec. 28.24-28p3 & 30.11-16p3)
• 96189   96189 1991 NT3 from PJMSO (Jan. 2.45p5)
• 66407   66407 1999 LQ28 from PJMSO (Jan. 2.47-48p5)
• 25916   25916 2001 CP44 from Spacewatch 0.9m (Dec. 30.18-21p3)
• 09172   9172 Abhramu (1989 OB) from Spacewatch 0.9m (Dec. 28.41-45p3)
• 07839   7839 1994 ND from Spacewatch 0.9m (Dec. 28.30-32p2)
• 01862   1862 Apollo (1932 HA) from Atlante Obs. (Jan. 3.07-09p3)

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Observers  on 3 January '08

A total of 36 observing facilities appear in today's MPECs.

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Impact Risk Monitoring  on 3 January '08

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 a variant 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" to learn more.

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Chronology  on 3 January '08

Times are UTC for when items were noted or added by The Tracking News.