comets and the near earth object program at hobbs observatory
DESCRIPTION
COMETS AND THE NEAR EARTH OBJECT PROGRAM AT HOBBS OBSERVATORY. By Bert Moritz. EARLY OBSERVATIONS OF COMETS. COMETS AND SUPERSTITION. COMETS. COMETS FORM. OORT CLOUD. LONG AND SHORT PERIOD. COMET IMPACTS ON JUPITER. EARTH IMPACT. WHY THEY DIED. Rain of comets every 65 mil?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
COMETS AND THE NEAR EARTH OBJECT PROGRAM AT HOBBS
OBSERVATORYBY BERT MORITZ
EARLY OBSERVATIONS OF COMETS
COMETS AND SUPERSTITION
COMETS
COMETS FORM
OORT CLOUD
LONG AND SHORT PERIOD
COMET IMPACTS ON JUPITER
EARTH IMPACT
WHY THEY DIED
RAIN OF COMETS EVERY 65 MIL?
COMET IMPACT IN MODERN TIMES
WHY TRACK NEAR EARTH OBJECTS?
Safety of Planet
Future exploitation of resources◦ Mining of asteroids◦ Water from comets for fuel
NASA Sponsored ProgramMinor Planetary CenterHarvard Astrophysical Institute
Funding Recently Increased
Near Earth Asteroids
Perihelion distance is less than 1.3 AU
Near Earth Comets
Perihelion distance is less than 1.3 AU
Period is less than 200 years (short period)
CHANCE OF IMPACT IS VERY SMALL BUT REAL
◦ 784 NEOs over ½ mile wide currently tracked◦ Only one poses risk of impact with 1 out of 2940
chance if hitting Earth in 40 years
◦ CHANCE OF IMPACT BY NEO ½ mile wide or larger: one every 500,000 years 1500 feet wide: one every 100,000 years 150 feet wide: one every 700 years 90 feet wide: one every 140 years
NEO Work At Hobbs Observatory
◦ Comets tracked for five year◦ Measurer is Bob Elliott◦ Observer is Bert Moritz
◦ Observations made with 24” telescope and Apogee U55 camera
◦ Data reduction done in Michigan◦ Results sent to Smithsonian Astrophysical
Institute at Harvard University
473 Remanzacco. Observers L. Donato, M. Gonano, V. Gonano, E. Guido, M. Travagini, G. Sostero. 0.45-m f/4.4 Newtonian reflector + CCD.750 Hobbs Observatory, Fall Creek. Observer N. Moritz. Measurer R. Elliott. 0.60-m f/5 reflector + CCD.808 El Leoncito. Observers M. L. Varela M., J. Vicentela. Measurer M. L. Varela M. 0.5-m f/7.5 double astrograph + CCD.834 Buenos Aires-AAAA. Observers R. Mackintosh, M. Konishi, R. Mykytyuk. Measurer R. Mackintosh. 0.25-m f/6.3 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD.900 Moriyama. Observer Y. Ikari. 0.26-m f/7.0 reflector + CCD.945 Observatorio Monte Deva. Observer J. R. Vidal. 0.36-m f/4.48 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD.
ACTIVE OBSERVATORIES
COD 750OBS N. MoritzMEA R. ElliottTYP CMTACK Observations from Hobbs Observatory Sent 05 June 2009 EDTTEL 0.60-m f/5 reflector + CCDNET UCAC2 CK06Q010 C2009 06 05.12015 16 20 16.09 +37 24 07.7 16.3 N750 CK06Q010 C2009 06 05.13321 16 20 15.62 +37 24 09.9 16.3 N750 CK06Q010 C2009 06 05.14252 16 20 15.26 +37 24 11.5 16.6 N750 CK06Q010 C2009 06 05.14410 16 20 15.21 +37 24 11.8 15.8 N750
PUBLISHED DATA POINTS FROMMINOR PLANET CENTER
WHAT I DON’T GET TO SEE
FUN THINGS I DO GET TO SEE
THANK YOU!