Contents  on 2 December '20

Asteroid/Comet Connection (A/CC) Resources:

The latest A/CC news is available via framed access, RSS news feed RSS news feed, or redirection.

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. To keep track of what's new each day, watch the Chronology section.

NEOCP Activity  on 2 December '20

The MPC's NEO Confirmation Page has 16 listings

When last checked at 2358 UTC today, the Minor Planet Center's Near Earth Object discovery Confirmation Page (NEOCP) had sixteen objects listed. Of these, eight were "one nighters." So far The Tracking News has counted a total of eighteen listings on the NEOCP 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.

New MPECs  on 2 December '20

Minor Planet Electronic Circulars

As of last check at 2358 UTC, there have been two MPECs posted today from the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.


MPEC 2020-X04 - "18:01 UT" - 2020 WS5


<< DOU on 2 December '20 >>  MPEC 2020-X03 - "12:11 UT" - Daily Orbit Update

Observers  on 2 December '20

A total of 25 observers appear in today's MPECs.

CodeObserver / observatory
T05ATLAS Haleakala in Hawaii, 12 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2017 WJ16, 2017 VT12, 2004 AC, 2002 GZ8, 53435, 482505, 465749, 380359, 378160, 21374, 163902, 159402
T08ATLAS Mauna Loa in Hawaii, 24 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2020 VZ6, 2020 OC8, 99907, 89355, 86039, 68359, 65717, 497094, 474554, 449107, 30825, 216707, 163014, 162173, 10150, 8567, 6053, 5587, 4503, 3122, 1943, 1685, 1036, 887
L54Berthelot Obs., 3 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2002 GZ8, 154302, 7753
160Castelmartini Obs. in Italy, 6 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 428086, 163364, 162173, 152978, 144411, 138852
807|Robert Holmes in Illinois via Cerro Tololo Inter-American Obs. (CTIO) in Chile, 2 in MPECs 2020-X03 & 2020-X04 -- 2020 WS5, 2002 LG3
970Chelmsford Obs. in England, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2020 SO
J04!program code "!" (10) via ESA Optical Ground Station in the Canary Islands, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2020 KO3
E10,program code "," (21) via Faulkes Telescope South in New South Wales, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2020 WD5
W46Foxfire Village Obs., 2 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2020 VZ6, 2017 WJ16
K88GINOP-KHK in Hungary, 2 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2020 VZ6, 2002 GZ8
U55Golden Ears Obs., 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 5587
J95Great Shefford Obs. in England, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2020 VZ6
C401program code 1 via Kuban State Univ. Obs. in Russia, 2 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2020 VZ6, 153201
G96Mt. Lemmon Survey (MLS) in Arizona, 2 in MPECs 2020-X03 & 2020-X04 -- 2020 WS5, 2002 LG3
Z80Northolt Branch Obs. in England, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 153201
F51Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) in Hawaii, 6 in MPECs 2020-X03 & 2020-X04 -- 2020 WS5, 2020 SC1, 2020 QM4, 2000 PQ27, 99935, 138175
H36Sandlot Obs. in Kansas, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 153201
C95SATINO-1 in France, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 4953
Q21Southern Utsunomiya in Japan, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 153201
291Spacewatch 1.8m telescope in Arizona, 4 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2020 WZ3, 2020 WT4, 2016 TB18, 2014 MK55
I52Steward Obs. Mt. Lemmon Station in Arizona, 41 in MPECs 2020-X03 & 2020-X04 -- 2020 WZ4, 2020 WV, 2020 WT2, 2020 WS5, 2020 WS2, 2020 WS, 2020 WQ3, 2020 WQ1, 2020 WP4, 2020 WO3, 2020 WO, 2020 WM5, 2020 WL5, 2020 WL1, 2020 WG, 2020 WF2, 2020 WE4, 2020 WE3, 2020 WE2, 2020 WE1, 2020 WD1, 2020 WC3, 2020 WB3, 2020 VZ6, 2020 VY1, 2020 VX5, 2020 VX1, 2020 VU4, 2020 VM6, 2020 VM3, 2020 VK1, 2020 UN2, 2020 UL1, 2020 UF7, 2020 TL10, 2020 TG3, 2020 TC7, 2020 TB12, 2020 SC1, 2020 PC5, 2002 LG3
T12UH/Tholen NEO Follow-Up 2.24m Telescope in Hawaii, 2 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 477519, 280491
L01Visnjan Obs. in Croatia, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 2002 LG3
G33Wickede Obs. in Germany, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 153201
I41Zwicky Transient Facility in southern California, 1 in MPEC 2020-X03 -- 153201
For a list of all participating observatories that have Web addresses, see A/CC's Observatory Links page.

Impact Risk Monitoring  on 2 December '20

Summary Risk Table for Risk Assessments Updated Today   (last checks: NEODyS at 2358 UTC)
See the CRT page for a list of all objects rated recently as risks and our ephemerides page for a list of risk-listed objects under current observation.
The time horizon for JPL and NEODyS listings is 100 years, and both post impact solutions beyond that for some special objects.
For the latest official risk assessments, and for explanations of the terminology, see the NASA/JPL Sentry and NEODyS CLOMON2 risk pages.
0000NNN000

Object

Risk
Monitor
When
Noted
UTC
0000T0000
Year
Range

VI
#
000NN00
Prob
Cum
T0000
PS
Cum
T0000
PS
Max

T
S


Notes for Today's Latest Risk Assessments
2020 WL5NEODyS1800R E M O V E D-
JPL Sentry18002112-211211.912e-10-7.97-7.970JPL: Computed at 06:18 today Pacific time based on 24 observations spanning 3.8374 days (2020-Nov-28.227603 to 2020-Dec-02.064981). Diameter approximately 0.210 km. from weighted mean H=21.09.
2020 WT4JPL Sentry18002062-211985.61123e-06-6.86-7.080JPL: Computed at 06:16 today Pacific time based on 23 observations spanning 7.9205 days (2020-Nov-24.190527 to 2020-Dec-02.11102). Diameter approximately 0.010 km. from weighted mean H=27.70.
NEODyS18002068-2120154.51e-06-6.91-7.02n/aNEODyS: "Based on 23 optical observations (of which 0 are rejected as outliers) from 2020-11-24.191 to 2020-12-02.112."
2020 WZ3JPL Sentry18002089-2119141.7138867e-05-5.74-6.200JPL: Computed at 06:07 today Pacific time based on 32 observations spanning 8.8242 days (2020-Nov-23.352624 to 2020-Dec-02.17682). Diameter approximately 0.020 km. from weighted mean H=26.19.
NEODyS18002101-2120191.98e-05-5.70-6.17n/aNEODyS: "Based on 32 optical observations (of which 0 are rejected as outliers) from 2020-11-23.353 to 2020-12-02.178."
2020 WB3NEODyS1800R E M O V E D-
2015 XH55JPL Sentry18002092-211762.45826e-06-7.96-8.320JPL: Computed at 06:58 July 17th of 2019 Pacific time based on 24 observations spanning 4.8627 days (2015-Dec-01.472958 to 2015-Dec-06.335663). Diameter approximately 0.005 km. from weighted mean H=29.22.

Legend: VI# = VI count, Prob Cum = cumulative probability, PS Cum/Max = cumulative/maximum Palermo Scale, TS = Torino Scale (next 100 years)

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.

Chronology  on 2 December '20

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

1900Grabbed MPEC 2020-X04 - 2020 WS5 - see above
1800Noted that JPL Sentry has updated its 2015 XH55 risk assessment - see above
Noted that NEODyS has removed 2020 WB3 as an impact risk - see above
Noted that JPL Sentry has updated its 2020 WL5 risk assessment - see above
Noted that NEODyS has removed 2020 WL5 as an impact risk - see above
Noted that JPL Sentry has updated its 2020 WT4 risk assessment - see above
Noted that NEODyS has updated its 2020 WT4 risk assessment - see above
Noted that JPL Sentry has updated its 2020 WZ3 risk assessment - see above
Noted that NEODyS has updated its 2020 WZ3 risk assessment - see above
Grabbed MPEC 2020-X03 - Daily Orbit Update - see above