MessageToEagle.com -
Using the Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawai‘i, astronomers from the University of Hawaii’s Institute
for Astronomy (IfA) confirm that the chance of asteroid 2011 AG5 impacting Earth in 2040 is no longer a significant
risk.
Previously, scientists estimated that the risk of this 140-meter-diameter (about the length of two American football
fields) asteroid colliding with the Earth was as high as one in 500.
If this object were to collide with the Earth it would have released about 100 megatons of energy, several thousand
times more powerful than the atomic bombs that ended World-War II. Statistically, a body of this size could impact
the Earth on average every 10,000 years.
Click on image to enlarge
Orbit and current location (6/15/2012) of asteroid 2011 AG5. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The observations, using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (and imager), were especially challenging said team-member
Richard Wainscoat. “These were extremely difficult observations of a very faint object,” he said.
“We were surprised by how easily the Gemini telescope was able to recover such a faint
asteroid so low in the sky.”
The Gemini observations were made on October 20, 21, and 27, 2012.
Click on image to enlarge
Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph image of asteroid 2011 AG5. Credits: Gemini Observatory
In addition to multiple observations since the asteroid’s discovery, the team had also acquired images about two weeks
earlier with the University of Hawai‘i 2.2-meter telescope also on Mauna Kea – however, these data were all less conclusive
and required confirmation.
Gemini was able to make the follow-up observations rapidly due to the observatory’s scheduling
flexibility and availability of several instruments at a moment’s notice.
The updated trajectory of 2011 AG5, based on the Gemini data, has a factor of 60 less uncertainty than the previous
observations due in part to the increase in sampling points in the asteroid’s orbit.
According to a press release issued by JPL, while this new result has reduced the interest in 2011 AG5, the experience
gained by studying this object and conducting a contingency deflection analysis has demonstrated that astronomers, using
NSF and NASA facilities, are well poised to detect and predict the trajectories of Earth-threatening asteroids in the future.
The data for this study are being published by the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Teenage Girl Develops Cell Phone That Tests Your Heart
Catherine Wong is a 17-year-old high school student from New Jersey who she is already making a name for herself in both the science
and technology communities. Wong has developed a Bluetooth-enabled device that allows for remote cardiac examination.
No More Zoo Of Broken 3D Printed Objects -
A New Software Will Give Them Strength!
Objects created using 3-D printing have a common flaw: They are fragile and often fall apart or lose their shape.
"I have an entire zoo of broken 3-D printed objects in my office," said Bedrich Benes, an associate professor of computer graphics at Purdue University.
Become A Rocket Scientist And Space Cargo Pilot
With NASA's Free HIAD App!
Have you ever wanted to become a rocket scientist or space cargo pilot? How about mixing space science with a game?
Want to try your hand at landing an inflatable spacecraft? All you need is a smart phone, a computer or a tablet.
MessageToEagle.com -
Using the Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawai‘i, astronomers from the University of Hawaii’s Institute
for Astronomy (IfA) confirm that the chance of asteroid 2011 AG5 impacting Earth in 2040 is no longer a significant
risk.
All across the world there are people who love to stand outside and photograph the best our beautiful night sky has to offer.
Sometimes they can wait for hours just to take that one perfect shot! The results of these peoples' efforts...
The possibility of time travel have fascinated mankind for ages. We are all familiar with
the concept of the time machine, from H.G. Wells to current sci-fi writers, and there are physicists who say we cannot rule out time travel.
Catherine Wong is a 17-year-old high school student from New Jersey who she is already making a name for herself in both the science
and technology communities. Wong has developed a Bluetooth-enabled device that allows for remote cardiac examination.
Objects created using 3-D printing have a common flaw: They are fragile and often fall apart or lose their shape.
"I have an entire zoo of broken 3-D printed objects in my office," said Bedrich Benes, an associate professor of computer graphics at Purdue University.
Have you ever wanted to become a rocket scientist or space cargo pilot? How about mixing space science with a game?
Want to try your hand at landing an inflatable spacecraft? All you need is a smart phone, a computer or a tablet.
