The Planetary Society provides this “Guide to the February 15, 2013 Close Pass by Asteroid 2012 DA14“:
Category Archives: Astronomy
Kepler planet hunter back in action
The Kepler orbital observatory is back to planet hunting after taking ten days off to give one of its reaction wheels, which had been showing signs of abnormal friction, some days off (see earlier post here) : Kepler resumes data collection after safe mode – Spaceflight Now
Managers put Kepler into safe mode Jan. 17 when reaction wheel no. 4, one of the spacecraft’s three remaining reaction wheels, showed rising friction. The reaction wheels were spun down and the observatory switched to chemical rocket thrusters to control its attitude for a 10-day “wheel rest” period.
The wheel rest period was designed to allow the wheel bearings to cool and lubricant to redistribute inside the wheel housings, hopefully resolving the friction issue.
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Engineers will review the performance of wheel no. 4 over the next month to evaluate the effectiveness of the wheel rest scheme, NASA said in an update. More wheel rest periods may be needed in the future if the procedure proves effective, according to Sobeck.
Amateur astronomers: Discovering a multi-planet system + Awards for comet discoveries
Some news of amateur astronomy accomplishments:
Here is a story about amateur astronomers using the sophisticated technique of microlensing to discover a multiple-planet system.
- Amateurs Help Discover Multi-Planet System – SkyandTelescope.com
- MicroFUN – Information for Prospective Collaborators
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The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics award a total purse of $30,000 to amateur astronomers who discovered comets in 2012:
- Amateur Astronomers Win Cash for Comet Discoveries – Wired Science/Wired.com
- 2012 Comet Awards Announced – Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Nearly all comet discoveries nowadays are made by automated telescopes which scan the skies with robotic eyes and check new appearances in a computer. But the Edgar Wilson Award celebrates the few lone amateurs that still practice the old ways of comet watching, scanning the skies during freezing cold nights to get that once-in-a-lifetime finding. Spotting comets is very competitive because the first person to report it gets the honor of having the comet named for him or herself.
The five winners this year all made their discoveries in 2011. For most of the recipients, it is their first time winning. The prize money was split evenly among the discoveries.
Asteroid 2012-DA14 to pass earth closer than GEO-sats
NASA’s ScienceCast program reports on the upcoming close fly-by of asteroid 2012-DA14:
On Feb. 15th an asteroid about half the size of a football field will fly past Earth closer than many man-made satellites. Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to our planet.
Planetary Society Hangout Jan 24th – Asteroid hunter Gary Hug
The latest Planetary Society Hangout included asteroid hunter Gary Hug who
scans the skies every night looking for new near-Earth objects and refining orbital measurements for existing ones. He is also one of the Planetary Society‘s Gene Shoemaker Fellows, which is our program to provide highly-skilled amateur astronomers with the equipment and support needed to continue the search for potentially hazardous asteroids.
Join Casey Dreier and Dr. Bruce Betts, who manages the Shoemaker program, as they talk to Gary Hug about how he hunts the night skies, the new NEO he discovered in January, and what drives him.