A famed radio telescope overcame Tropical Storm Isaias to determine the threat level of a space rock zooming by Earth. In both cases, happily, everything worked out just fine.
Astronomers with the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico weresupposed to observe the close-flying asteroid 2020 NK1 from July 30 to 31, when the object — which scientists first spotted in early July — would be within close range (5 million miles or 8 million kilometers) of the radar-probing telescope. Unfortunately, that timing fell exactly when Tropical Storm Isaias was supposed to crash into Puerto Rico.
Quite a lot has been going on:
OSIRIS-REx is One Rehearsal Away from Touching Asteroid Bennu | NASA
Observatory returns from tropical storm Isaias lockdown to track asteroid for NASA
Arecibo's Planetary Radar Group made it a priority to observe 2020 NK1 when it came within range—within 5 million miles—of the facility's powerful instruments. In this case, the time period was brief, July 30-31, just about the same time Tropical Storm Isaias was expected to slam into the island.
The observatory shut down to prepare for the storm, and as soon as it passed the team jumped into action to detect and study the asteroid. Even as parts of the island lost power and damage was assessed, the Arecibo team was able to determine the asteroid's shape, orbit and motion.
Nasa Trojan asteroids mission on course for October 2021 launch | Asteroids | The Guardian
N asa's Lucy mission has passed a critical milestone in its development: all components of the spacecraft passed a system integration review (SIR) on 27 July, and it can now be assembled and tested in preparation for its October 2021 launch.
If it succeeds in its mission, Lucy will be the first spacecraft to explore the Trojan asteroids. These ancient space rocks share the same orbit as Jupiter, and are thought to be composed of the same material that made the gas giants of the outer solar system. During its 12-year mission, Lucy will fly by seven Trojan asteroids, collecting data to help reveal the formation history of the entire solar system.
This may worth something:
Asteroid bombshell: Two Indian schoolgirls warn NASA after discovering 'Near-Earth Object' |
Vaidehi said: “We started the project in June and we sent back our analysis a few weeks ago to NASA.
Vaidehi, who wants to be an astronaut when she is older, added: “I look forward to when we will get a chance to name the asteroid.”
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For now, the rock has been dubbed HLV2514 and will only be officially recognised after NASA confirms its orbit, a SPACE India spokesman said.
They added in a tweet: “We are proud to announce Vaidehi Vekariya and Radhika Lakhani, two students of P.P Savani Chaitanya Vidya Sankul (CBSE) from Surat with the help of SPACE-AIASC discovered a new asteroid which is a Near-Earth Object named HLV2514.”
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft prepares for final asteroid-sampling rehearsal | Space
NASA's OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft is preparing for its final rehearsal before touching down on asteroid Bennu this fall to snag a piece of space rock.
OSIRIS-REx, which has been orbiting Bennu since 2018, is NASA's first asteroid-sampling spacecraft. The probe is scheduled to practice its touchdown sequence for a second time on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
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During the practice session, the spacecraft will rehearse the touch-and-go sample-collection event, similar to the mission's April 14 checkpoint rehearsal , which practiced the first two maneuvers of the descent. But this time, the spacecraft will add a third maneuver, called the matchpoint burn, and fly closer to the sample site, known as Nightingale, than it has before.
An asteroid the size of a car just zipped by Earth in close flyby | Space
A car-sized asteroid discovered over the weekend made a close flyby of Earth today (July 28), passing our planet at a range that rivals the orbits of some high-flying satellites.
The asteroid 2020 OY4, which was first detected on Sunday (July 26), made its closest approach today at 1:31 a.m. EDT (0531 GMT) when it zipped by Earth at a speed of about 27,700 mph (44,600 km/h), according to the European Space Agency . The asteroid is just under 10 feet (3 meters) wide and posed no impact risk to Earth, but did approach the flight paths of geosynchronous satellites.
Asteroid bigger than a blue whale to shoot by Earth THIS WEEKEND | Science | News | Express.co.uk
The space agency has also revealed it will be travelling at a staggering speed of 10.8 kilometres per second - or 38,880 kilometres per hour. At that speed, it could travel around the Earth in an hour.
According to NASA, asteroid 2020 OL4 is a NEO (Near Eath Object), giving NASA the perfect opportunity to study the history of the solar system.
NASA said on its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) website: “NEOs are comets and asteroids that have been nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earth’s neighbourhood.
Happening on Twitter
Arecibo Observatory weathers Tropical Storm Isaias to track potentially dangerous asteroid https://t.co/0YFRFhBnU4 https://t.co/hETN6nwsoy SPACEdotcom (from NYC) Sat Aug 08 14:15:06 +0000 2020
Arecibo Observatory Returns from Tropical Storm Isaias Lockdown to Track Asteroid for NASA - The Earth has one less… https://t.co/RQKejozn65 SETIInstitute (from Mountain View, CA) Fri Aug 07 23:16:02 +0000 2020
Debido a que están fuera de servicio por reparaciones las unidades de Aguirre 2, AES 1 y Palo Seco 3 se llevará a c… https://t.co/q8YwM46EcM AEEONLINE (from San Juan, Puerto Rico) Tue Aug 04 22:47:19 +0000 2020
#COVID19PR | Ante 267 contagios confirmados y 237 probables más, los casos del virus en la isla aumentan a 19,324,… https://t.co/XI0u8TeQvm PulsoEST (from Puerto Rico) Tue Aug 04 11:40:06 +0000 2020
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