Our Solar System suddenly feels a little more cluttered, with NASA's Near-Earth Objectmission having just released a year's worth of survey data, putting a bunch of new space rocks on our radar.
Most of the asteroids, comets, and general clumps of cosmic dandruff are too far away to be considered a threat to our planet, but NASA will be sure to keep a close eye on 10 objects that thinks could be big and near enough to be considered a hazard.
As the name suggests, NASA's Near-Earth Orbit Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) is an orbiting telescope that looks for objects in our Solar System with orbits that could bring them close to our planet.
In 2010, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft ran low on coolant for its telescope, so researchers scaled down the mission to scan the skies closer to home rather than looking all over the cosmos.
After entering a brief two-year nap in 2011, the spacecraft was reactivated, and has since characterised a total of 693 near-Earth objects. Of those, 114 had never been seen before.
This past year alone, NEOWISE has discovered 5 new comets, 64 main belt asteroids, and 28 near-Earth objects.
It found these by using its low infra-red bandwidth telescope to snap 2.6 million images of the sky.
A new technique called tail-fitting has now allowed researchers to use the database of images to model comet behaviour as they sweep through the Solar System.
"Comets that have abrupt outbursts are not commonly found, but this may be due more to the sudden nature of the activity rather than their inherent rarity," says Emily Kramerfrom NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.
"It is great for astronomers to view and collect cometary data when they find an outburst, but since the activity is so short-lived, we may simply miss them most of the time."
To get some idea of the total number of objects out there, take a look at the video clip below, which shows the orbits of asteroids in grey, near-Earth objects in green, and comets in yellow:
But what about those 10 potentially hazardous asteroids (PHA)? Is it time to invest in silver and wait out the fireball in grandpa's bunker?
PHAs are classified as asteroids that have a minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.05 astronomical units (1 AU is the distance from Earth to the Sun, so 0.05 AU is about 7.5 million kilometres, or 4.6 million miles).
They also must be big enough to have an absolute magnitude of 22 or brighter, which would make them bigger than 140 metres (around 500 feet) in size, assuming they were reflective enough.
So far, we know of 1,806 of these objects, and while some will give us a close shave in coming years, none seem to be destined for our backyard.
Don't upset grandpa any time soon, though - a team of astronomers from the Czech Academy of Sciences think the risk of being hit with a big rock in coming years is growing.
Their conclusions are based on an analysis of 144 meteors from the Taurid meteor showers that have hit our atmosphere and exploded, also commonly called bolides.
Along with the comet Encke, the Taurids are thought to be the remains of an even bigger comet that has been disintegrating over the past 20,000 to 30,000 years.
The researchers claim they have detected a new branch of debris, one that they suspect holds at least two asteroids between 200 and 300 metres (about 650 and 1,000 feet) in size.
"Most probably, the branch also includes many undetected asteroids which are dozens of metres in diameter or larger," the Czech academy said in a press release.
"Hence, the danger of a crash with an asteroid grows markedly once every few years that the Earth encounters this stream of inter-planetary material."
The researchers noted that the asteroids they observed that were larger than 300 grams (about 10.5 ounces) were extremely fragile.
Not that a fragile 300-metre-wide rock ploughing through out atmosphere isn't at least some cause for concern.
As usual, the message is we need to keep our eyes peeled and keep track of the things orbiting the Sun with us. Because it's not like we have any big plans in case one takes us by surprise.
Thanks, NEOWISE! Let's hope this next year is another productive one.
The Taurids meteor research was published in Astronomy and Astrophysics.
See original here:
NASA Just Gave Us 10 Good Reasons to Hunt For Near-Earth Asteroids - ScienceAlert
- 2D Laser Profiling Scanner for Detecting Targets - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Energy Concept Could Harness the Power of Ocean Waves - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Data Acquisition Modules - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dr. Scott Barthelmy, Research Scientist, Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Laser Tracker Ensures Accurate Alignment of Ares I Components - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dual Cryogenic Capacitive Density Sensor - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Advanced Technologies Will Help Hubble Yield More Remarkable Discoveries - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dr. Gerard Holzmann, Senior Research Scientist at the Laboratory for Reliable Software, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Research Will Help Aircraft Avoid Ocean Storms and Turbulence - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Awards 2008 Software of the Year - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Here Come The Tricorders - Update - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- China's View on Space - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Milsat Coordination and Tracking Issues - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Trash Talking and End Runs at NASA HQ - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ares 1-Y is Toast - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Beyond Augustine - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Analyzing LCROSS' Plume - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Live Event: NASA-Sponsored Power Beaming Challenge - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- JSC Wants To Build a Replicator - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- USA: Looking For Ways To Hang On - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Lunar Lander Challenge Prizes Awarded - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Senate Votes To Restore NASA Budget Cuts - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- New FAA Regs for Commercial Reentry - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- TEDxNASA: An Invitation-Only NASA Meeting - Unless You Are Lucky - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Close Call For Courtney Stadd - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Space: A Waste? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Making NASA Cool - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Engaging JSC’s Next Gen: A Leadership Analysis - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dumpster Diving for Rockets - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- TEDx NASA - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Reflections On a Business Trip in Huntsville - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Staying the Course - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Economics of Space - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ideas at Work - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Blah Blah Blah - Why We Should Care About Social Media - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Will White House Speak Soon About NASA? - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Software Aids Design of Ares V Composite Shroud Structure - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- ASDX Series of silicon pressure sensors - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Industry Update: Analysis & Simulation Software - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Battery Will Provide Backup Power for Space Shuttles - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- NASA Employee Claims To Have Witnessed Hijacking Planning - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Big Party in The Mojave Tonight - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Looking at Boulders on the Moon - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- SpaceBook Featured by White House - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- New Ways to Use Constellation Stuff - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- LaRC internal Poll Update - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Coalition for Space Exploration Does a (Much Needed) Reboot - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Lunar Orbiter: Comparing Old and New Images - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Boulder Trails On The Moon - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Vote for John Grunsfeld - National Geographic Adventurer of the YeAR - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Charlie Bolden at WIA/AIAA - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Live Webcast From The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Big Aerospace Warns of Job Cut Impact - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Boulders of Copernicus - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- shame on us - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- 2009 Space Elevator Games - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Random Hacks of Kindness - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- TEDx NASA Tickets Available to the Public - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- It’s better in person - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Leading Amidst the Disruptive Innovation Storm - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Space: What’s NOT to Hope for? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Government in the Digital Age - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- SpaceUp – A Space Unconference - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Starfleet Academy? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Crowdsourcing NASA - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Bringing Home The Bacon - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Anti-Space Mom with Pro-Space Kids - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- How Quickly We Forget - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- WISE Launch A Success - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Dynetics Buys Orion Propulsion - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- New NASA Governance Structure Under Development - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Bolden Meets With Obama on Wednesday - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- MSFC Procurement Doesn't Understand what "Open Source" Means - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Bolden Meets With Obama - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Parker Griffith AT MSFC Today - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Why Your NASA Computer May Not Work Properly - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Lakes and Fog on Titan - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Waterworld Found - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Pandora Could Exist - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Laurie Leshin Is The New ESMD Deputy AA - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]