A lot has happened since early October. I had a chance to speak to a few people involved in the discovery of the 2 meter asteroid that hit Earth as a meteor the next day. The story
at http://www.azstarnet.com/news/264185 is a good report of the event and the process.
I thought I knew Kowalski, the discoverer, but I don't. I confused his name with that of a colleague of mine. It was a little embarrasing as I went up my colleague and slapped him on the back saying, "Richard, how does it feel to be the person to first discover an asteroid that then hit the Earth?" He just smiled and told me it wasn't him and explained the difference between his name and the discoverer. Whoops!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
A crazy election, financial crisis and now this!
If I didn't know the people involved, I wouldn't believe it. An exciting election, world financial crisis and now this! I still have a hard time believing it.
A small, fast moving body was found at Mt. Lemmon, an observatory in Tuscon, AZ, by a colleage. Richard Kowalski, who I know (he's going to be everyone's friend now). Another group of astronomers were able to calculate its orbit, that's another impressive aspect of the story, verify it and then report with confidence, that it was going to collide with Earth! The risk of a Chicken Little situation is high. I can't wait to hear them all tell their stories. The very small asteroidal fragment was named 2008 TC3, (naming conventions exist and aren't very interesting) and it was predicted to collide with Earth Oct. 6, 2008 at 2:46 UT.
Now to see the images. Now is the time to verify what you hear and see. The reports won't necessarily be from people I know. It was predicted to fall over northern Africa, I've already read that it was visible from Europe, but I'll have to do some sorting of reports to see if that is true. The only problem is that I am getting ready to go to a meeting, and I am preparing for that. I think I'll stick to my plans and let others in my office sort through the reports of any sighting, or a meteorite fall. That would be very interesting, if there were a meteorite fall. We live in interesting times. Don't forget that the economy is in upheaval and there is a Presidential election debate tonight. Note this was not predicted to be an impact hazard.
A small, fast moving body was found at Mt. Lemmon, an observatory in Tuscon, AZ, by a colleage. Richard Kowalski, who I know (he's going to be everyone's friend now). Another group of astronomers were able to calculate its orbit, that's another impressive aspect of the story, verify it and then report with confidence, that it was going to collide with Earth! The risk of a Chicken Little situation is high. I can't wait to hear them all tell their stories. The very small asteroidal fragment was named 2008 TC3, (naming conventions exist and aren't very interesting) and it was predicted to collide with Earth Oct. 6, 2008 at 2:46 UT.
Now to see the images. Now is the time to verify what you hear and see. The reports won't necessarily be from people I know. It was predicted to fall over northern Africa, I've already read that it was visible from Europe, but I'll have to do some sorting of reports to see if that is true. The only problem is that I am getting ready to go to a meeting, and I am preparing for that. I think I'll stick to my plans and let others in my office sort through the reports of any sighting, or a meteorite fall. That would be very interesting, if there were a meteorite fall. We live in interesting times. Don't forget that the economy is in upheaval and there is a Presidential election debate tonight. Note this was not predicted to be an impact hazard.
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