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In this photo, courtesy of NASA/SETI, a line of Sudanese students awaits the signal to begin a search for remnants of asteroid 2008 TC3. Now NASA/Goddard reports that analysis of what they found, a meteorite from the Almahata Sitta strewn field, "suggests that there is more than one way to make amino acids in space [something] involving reactions in gases as a very hot asteroid cools down" after severe impact with another minor object.

Contents  on 19 December '10

• IAU Minor Planet Center
  • NEOCP Activity -- two listings: 1 new, 1 updated
  • New MPECs -- six MPECs
• Observers -- eleven observers
• Impact Risk Monitoring -- three objects
• Chronology

Resources:

• Consolidated Risk Tables - the CRT page
    Of 390 risk-listed objects, 352 have had news in the last 31 days. Updated at 1826 UTC on 19 Dec.
• Earth's Busy Neighborhood Traffic Report
    Four objects are known to be within ten LD of Earth today. Updated at 1959 UTC on 19 Dec.
• Ephemerides for risk-rated and nearby objects
• News image catalog
• 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 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 19 December '10

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

When last checked at 2337 UTC today, the Minor Planet Center's Near Earth Object discovery Confirmation Page (NEOCP) had one new and one updated listing. Of these, one was a "one nighter." So far The Tracking News has counted a total of seven listings on the NEOCP at some point today.

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

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

New MPECs  on 19 December '10

Minor Planet Electronic Circulars

As of last check at 2337 UTC, there have been six MPECs posted today from the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• MPEC 2010-Y13 time-stamped "05:04 UT" - 2010 XX72 - see below
• MPEC 2010-Y14 time-stamped "05:27 UT" - 2010 XY72 - see below
• MPEC 2010-Y15 time-stamped "05:32 UT" - 2010 XZ72 - see below
• MPEC 2010-Y16 time-stamped "05:37 UT" - 2010 XA73 - see below
• MPEC 2010-Y17 time-stamped "06:10 UT" - 2010 XB73 - see below
• MPEC 2010-Y18 time-stamped "07:08 UT" - Daily Orbit Update

<< DOU on 19 Dec. '10 >>  MPEC 2010-Y18 - "07:08 UT" - Daily Orbit Update

• Observations of risk-listed objects
• K10X25C   2010 XC25 (arc=7 days, H=20.6 ~257m) from the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) (Dec. 14.49-51p4)
• Observations of recently (no longer) risk-listed objects
• K10X00J   2010 XJ from the Spacewatch 0.9m telescope (Dec. 14.13-14p3)
• Observations of small asteroids (H>22.0)
• K10X58Z   2010 XZ58 (arc=3 days, H=23.5 ~68m) from Castelmartini Obs. (Dec. 16.12p3)
• Observations of almost-small asteroids (21.7<H<=22.0)
• K10X45R   2010 XR45 (Q=4.527 AU, arc=74 days, H=21.8 ~148m) from the Mt. Lemmon Survey (MLS) (Oct. 1.29-30p4 at V=21.1-22.5)
• Observations of other objects
• K10X67Z   2010 XZ67 (arc=9 days, H=19.4 ~446m) from CSS (Dec. 6.07-09p4)
• K10X56M   2010 XM56 from Castelmartini Obs. (Dec. 16.02p5)
• K10T19H   2010 TH19 (arc=66 days, H=20.4 ~282m) from WISE (Dec. 11.41p1, 11.54p1, 11.67p1, 11.81p1, 11.94p2 & 12.07p1)
• K10NB7W   2010 NW117 (arc=2 opp, H=18.1 ~812m) from WISE (Dec. 10.35p1, 10.48p1, 10.61p1, 10.75p1, 10.88p1, 11.01p1, 11.08p1, 11.14p1, 11.21p1, 11.34p1, 11.41p1, 11.47p1, 11.54p1, 11.61p1, 11.67p1, 11.74p1, 11.81p1, 11.87p1, 11.94p1, 12.07p1, 12.14p1, 12.20p1, 12.27p1, 12.33p1, 12.40p1, 12.47p1, 12.53p1, 12.60p1, 12.66p1, 12.73p1 & 12.80p1)
• K10L68M   2010 LM68 (arc=23 days, H=20.8 ~234m) from WISE (June 24.91p1, 24.97p1 & 25.10p1)
• K10L63Z   2010 LZ63 (arc=15 days, H=20.1 ~323m) from WISE (June 27.38p1)
• K04T12R   2004 TR12 (arc=4 opp, H=18.2 ~776m) from WISE (Dec. 10.40p1, 10.53p1, 10.66p1, 10.86p1, 10.99p1, 11.06p1, 11.12p1, 11.19p1, 11.26p1, 11.39p1, 11.65p1, 11.72p1, 11.79p1, 11.92p1, 12.05p1, 12.12p1, 12.31p1, 12.38p1, 12.64p1, 12.78p1, 12.84p1, 12.91p1, 12.98p1, 13.04p1, 13.11p1, 13.17p1, 13.31p1, 13.44p1, 13.50p1, 13.57p1, 13.64p1, 13.70p1, 13.77p2, 13.97p1, 14.03p1 & 14.30p2)
• K00A93Z   2000 AZ93 (arc=4 opp, H=20.6 ~257m) from WISE (Dec. 13.56p1, 13.82p1, 13.89p1, 13.95p1 & 14.15p1)
• E4901   144901 2004 WG1 from WISE (Dec. 11.34p1, 11.61p1, 11.74p1, 12.07p1, 12.14p1, 12.27p1, 12.40p1, 12.53p1, 12.60p1, 12.66p1 & 12.73p1)
• 04957   4957 Brucemurray (1990 XJ) from WISE (Dec. 10.13p1, 10.52p1, 10.79p1, 10.85p1, 11.45p1, 11.51p1, 11.65p1, 11.78p2, 11.91p1 & 12.04p1)
• 04954   4954 Eric (1990 SQ) from WISE (Dec. 10.25p1, 10.38p1, 10.51p1, 10.64p1, 10.78p1, 10.84p1, 10.91p1, 11.04p1, 11.11p1, 11.17p2, 11.24p1, 11.30p1, 11.37p2, 11.50p1, 11.64p1 & 11.90p1)

MPEC 2010-Y17 - "06:10 UT" - 2010 XB73

• K10X73B   2010 XB73 (risk-listed, Q=5.852 AU, H=21.8 ~148m) from MLS (Dec. 14.13-14p4, 14.20p4 & 15.21-22p4), Magdalena Ridge Obs. (MRO) (Dec. 14.16-19p4), and the Spacewatch 1.8m telescope (Dec. 14.21-22p3)

MPEC 2010-Y16 - "05:37 UT" - 2010 XA73

• K10X73A   2010 XA73 (risk-listed, H=19.0 ~537m) from Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) (Dec. 15.54-59p8) and David Tholen's team on Mauna Kea (Dec. 16.61-62p4)

MPEC 2010-Y15 - "05:32 UT" - 2010 XZ72

• K10X72Z   2010 XZ72 (H=20.0 ~339m) from PS1 (Dec. 15.54-59p8), Tholen team/Mauna Kea (Dec. 16.60p3), and T. Lister via Faulkes Telescope North (Dec. 16.60-62p7)

MPEC 2010-Y14 - "05:27 UT" - 2010 XY72

• K10X72Y   2010 XY72 (H=18.3 ~741m) from MLS (Dec. 15.12-16p4 & 16.12p4) and Schiaparelli Obs. (Dec. 18.77-78p2)

MPEC 2010-Y13 - "05:04 UT" - 2010 XX72

• K10X72X   2010 XX72 (borderline-small, H=21.8 ~148m) from MLS (Dec. 15.29-33p8 & 16.17p3) and Castelmartini Obs. (Dec. 15.82-83p3)

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Observers  on 19 December '10

Eleven observers appear in today's MPECs.

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

Impact Risk Monitoring  on 19 December '10

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 19 December '10

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