NASA NEWS ASTEROID SEPTEMBER 2015 CODE

^ a b c d e f Halloween Skies to Include Dead Comet Flyby.'Large Halloween asteroid at lunar distance' (PDF). ^ a b c d 'JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2015 TB145)' ( last obs.).The object has a low albedo of 0.06, which is only slightly more than a typical comet that has an albedo of 0.03-0.05. Cameras for Allsky Meteor Surveillance (CAMS) did not detect any activity in the presumed area of the sky during 20. If meteoroids related to this asteroid were to cross Earth's path, the radiant is expected to be near Northern Eridanus. Any meteoroids were expected to pass more than 0.0007 AU (100,000 km 65,000 mi) from Earth's orbit.

Orbital calculations by Petrus Jenniskens and Jérémie Vaubaillon showed that it was not expected to produce associated meteors in 2015. The high orbital inclination and eccentricity suggest 2015 TB 145 may be an extinct comet that has shed its volatiles after numerous passes around the Sun. Arecibo images had a resolution of 7.5 meters (25 ft) per pixel. Bistatic radar images created with the Green Bank Telescope had a resolution of 4 meters (13 ft) per pixel. It was one of the best radar targets of the year with a resolution as high as 2 meters (7 ft) per pixel. The close approach was studied with radar using Goldstone, the Green Bank Telescope, and the Arecibo Observatory.

NASA NEWS ASTEROID SEPTEMBER 2015 CODE

Buzzi at Schiaparelli Observatory ( observatory code 204), at apparent magnitude 21. (E) Color codes: unobserved at close approach observed during close approach upcoming approachesĪfter it had been unobservable for almost three years, 2015 TB 145 was recovered on 7 October 2018 by L. (D) Reference: data source from the JPL SBDB, with AU converted into LD (1 AU≈390 LD) (C) Diameter: estimated, theoretical mean-diameter based on H and albedo range between X and Y. (B) Nominal geocentric distance from the center of Earth to the center of the object (Earth has a radius of approximately 6,400 km). (A) This list includes near-Earth approaches of less than 2 lunar distances (LD) of objects with H brighter than 20. After closest approach it quickly became too faint and too close to the Sun in the sky to be seen. At the time of closest approach of 17:00 UT the asteroid was in the constellation of Ursa Major about 56 degrees from the Moon and moving at a rate of 14.7 degrees per hour. Īt 11:00 UT the asteroid was in the constellation of Taurus about 9 degrees from the Moon and moving at a rate of 3.4 degrees per hour. The glare from an 80% waning gibbous Moon also hindered observations. Even at peak brightness, the asteroid was a challenging target for amateur astronomers with small telescopes, best seen in the Northern hemisphere. ĭuring closest approach to Earth the asteroid reached about apparent magnitude 10, which is much too faint to be seen by the naked eye.

It is estimated that there are about 2400 near-Earth asteroids 300–500 meters in diameter, of which about 1100 have been discovered. The next object this large known to pass this close to Earth is (137108) 1999 AN 10 that will pass about 1 lunar distance from Earth on 7 August 2027. The last approach this close by an object with absolute magnitude brighter than XP 14 on 3 July 2006 at 1.1 lunar distances. 2015 flyby Ģ015 TB 145 passed 1.27 LD from the earth, and 0.75 LD from the moon. The media has nicknamed the asteroid the ' Great Pumpkin' after the animated Halloween television special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, ' Spooky', the ' Halloween Asteroid', and the ' Skull Asteroid' due to its skull-like appearance following radio frequency images taken at Arecibo Observatory and closest approach coincidentally occurring on Halloween day. The asteroid last passed within 0.064 AU (9,600,000 km 5,900,000 mi) of Earth on 29 October 1923 and will not pass that close again until 1 November 2088. The asteroid was not discovered sooner because it spends most of its time beyond the orbit of Mars, has a large orbital inclination, and is usually well below the plane of the ecliptic. The asteroid was first observed on 10 October 2015 by Pan-STARRS at an apparent magnitude of 20 using a 1.8-meter (71 in) Ritchey–Chrétien telescope. Discovery image of 2015 TB 145 from the Pan-STARRS1 telescope, operated by the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii.

Nasa news asteroid september 2015