Australian Spaceguard Survey

THE PLANETARY SOCIETY AUSTRALIAN VOLUNTEERS - SPACEGUARD PAGE

17 May 05: Email virus alert - someone has a virus that is spewing out emails with a false sender address. My address (mpaineATtpgi.com.au) is being used at times. These emails are NOT originating from me and there is nothing I can do about it. Please ensure your computer has an active virus checker to stop this sort of thing.

The search for Near Earth Objects (NEO) - Microplanets (comets, asteroids and meteoroids) that share our region of the solar system. Inspired by the work of Gene Shoemaker and a memorial lecture by Ken Russell from the Anglo Australian Observatory. The term Spaceguard was coined by Arthur C Clarke in his 1973 science fiction novel Rendezvous with Rama. The introduction has an uncanny September 11 coincidence. (Extract)

[NEO News frequent updates] [Alerts] [Notes for Journalists] [FAQ][The alarm bells are ringing]
[Rocks from Space - Space.com/Explorezone series] [Quick quizz]
[Status of the Australian NEO search- updated March 2002 with 60 Minutes story and letter from 91 scientists+ Follow-up letter from Spaceguard UK in May]
[Draft Proposal for Australia] [Rough Guide to Impact Frequency]
[Risk and consequences][Risk of impact (AAAS paper)]
[Impacts and mass extinctions][Environmental effects]
[Transpermia - exchange of life via meteoroids]
[Dozens of NEO Web Links] [Tsunami][Space Missions]
[Books] [Bits & pieces] [Correspondence with Australian politicians (mostly shameful)]
[Press releases 25 Sept 1998, 27 May 1999 ,1 Dec 1999, 19 Sep 2000, 25 Feb 2001]
[6 Feb 2002 15 Mar 2002 19 Mar 02] [Disclaimer]
[Contact Information] or click on the words in the Earth/Moon picture.(Extract)

Tip: These pages are in plain HTML. Try Ctrl-F to "Find" any text you are interested in.

Alerts

7 Oct 08 Space.com: Small Asteroid to Streak into Earth's Atmosphere Tonight - this is the first case of an object detected by the (northern hemisphere) Spaceguard system that has been calculated to strike the Earth. It is only 2 metres in diameter and will explode in the upper atmosphere. Spaceweather.com update (diagram showing trajectory over Sudan).
26 Sep 08 Association of Space Explorers (ASE): Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response (PDF)
3 Sep 08 The Rosetta Blog - online coverage of asteorid fly-by. UT: Countdown to Asteroid Flyby.
26 Aug 08 TPS: Support The Planetary Society Phobos LIFE Project - urgent request for donations to send microbes on a round trip to the Martian moon to test the transpermia hypothesis.
26 Jun 08 Nature: Tunguska at 100 (by Duncan Steel) + The burger bar that saved the world (interviews with key Spaceguard people) - The truly remarkable thing was that [the K/T impact was] such a small impact — that has no effect on the Earth's rotation, its axis, its magnetic field, completely negligible physically — could nevertheless wipe out most of the life on the Earth. Many of the interviewed people signed the letter to the Australian Government in 2002. Note that computer simulations show that most potentially fatal impact events events DO NOT LEAVE IMPACT CRATERS - they result from an ocean impact (with many of the fatalities due to tsunami) or Tunguska-like fragmentation over land. The proportion of fatal events that involve a land impact gradually increases from less than 1% for events with around 100 fatalities to 16% for events with around 1 million fatalities. Airburst impacts by small NEOs (under 100m diameter) typically result in around 100,000 fatalities.
12 Jun 08 Space.com: Pluto Now Called a Plutoid - see also Microplanet essay.
19 Mar 08 ABC: Sci-fi guru Arthur C Clarke dies - there are many references to Sir Arthur on these pages.
25 Feb 08 GaiaShield: Call for signatures to support the NEO Preparedness Act.
13 Jan 08 Space.com: Space Rock [probably] Won't Wallop Mars, Scientists Say. Odds now 1 in 10,000.
29 Dec 07 NASA: Astronomers have identified asteroid 2007 WD 5 in archival imagery. With these new observations, scientists at NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif have refined their trajectory estimates for the asteroid. Based on this latest analysis, the odds for the asteroid impacting Mars on Jan. 30 are now 1-in-25 -- or about 4 percent (David Morrison adds that it is "normal" for the odds to increase with this type of close approach - the main point is that extra observations have not eliminated an impact at this stage)
27 Dec 07 Us Govt: Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) – Status of the Survey Program and Review of NASA’s Report to Congress (thanks Rusty Schweickart - see also 13 Nov item)
22 Dec 07 LA times: Asteroid on track for possible Mars hit - 1 in 75 chance of an impact on 30 January 2008 (thanks David Morrison) + NewSci: Asteroid may hit Mars in January + JPL podcast: Is an Asteroid Heading Toward Mars?
13 Dec 07 SMH: Sydney meteor shower alert - early hours of Saturday morning
25 Nov 07 The Age: Howard concedes election ... [opinion] some 11 years after he cancelled the Australian Spaceguard program. 100s of Near Earth Asteroids have passed through southern skies unnoticed in that time. Some may pose a future threat to Earth and up to 11 years will have been lost in mitigating that threat.
13 Nov 07 NASA Extracts from Congressional hearing (thanks David Morrison):

The ability to detect virtually every potentially hazardous Near-Earth object and determine its orbit with precision transforms that statistical threat into a deterministic prediction. We face many threats, and virtually all of them are either so complex or unpredictable that they are treated probabilistically even though the social and financial consequences are legion. With a comparatively small investment the NEO risk can be transformed from a probabilistic one to a deterministic one, enabling mitigation - J. Anthony Tyson
While suitable deflection technologies exist, none of them can be effective if we are taken by surprise. It is the aggressive survey efforts and robust planetary radars that must ensure that the vast majority of potentially hazardous objects are discovered and tracked well in advance of any Earth threatening encounters. The first three steps in any asteroid mitigation process are: Find them early, find them early, and find them early! - Don Yeomans
Unlike other natural hazards, however, NEO impacts can be predicted well ahead of time and actually prevented from occurring. If we live up to our responsibility, if we wisely use our amazing technology, and if we are mature enough, as a nation and as a community of nations, there may never again be a substantially damaging asteroid impact on the Earth. We have the ability to make ourselves safe from cosmic extinction. If we cannot manage to meet this challenge, we will, in my opinion, have failed to meet our evolutionary responsibility. - Rusty Schweickart

12 Nov 07 Armagh Observatory: The Leonid Meteors 2007 - see also Leonids page.
12 Nov 07 NewSci: NASA blasted for ignoring smaller asteroids + NASA: Congressional Hearings on NEO Survey Programs (testimonies)
6 Jun 07 NASA: 2006 Near-Earth Object Survey and Deflection Study: Final Report + Clark Chapman: Critique of "2006 Near-Earth Object Survey and Deflection Study: Final Report" Published 28 Dec. 2006 by NASA Hq. Program Analysis & Evaluation Office (Word doc) + Summary and Recommendations from AIAA Planetary Defense Conference (thanks David Morrison)
8 Mar 07 Space.com: NASA Can't Afford Hunt for Killer Asteroids
19 Feb 07 New Scientist: Asteroid threat demands response, experts warn.
5 Feb 07 Spaceweather: ASTEROID FLYBY: Mark your calendar. On March 31st, a 2-km wide asteroid named 2006 VV2 will glide past Earth. There's no danger of a collision: the space rock will be 8.8 times farther away than the Moon.The flyby is interesting because it is so bright, between 9th and 10th magnitude...
20 Jan 07 - Comet, crescent Moon and Venus in one shot - image by Michael Paine. Spectacular images by Rob McNaught.
19 Jan 07 Comet McNaught C/2006 P1 from Sydney - image by Michael Paine
17 Jan 07 Quasar Publishing: Astronomy 2007: The Book - has a superb article on the status of Spaceguard by Duncan Steel. Only available in the book.
16 Jan 07 Space.com: The Great Comet of 2007: Watch it on the Web - spotted from Sydney on the evening of 15 Jan very close to the horizon just to the left of where the Sun set.
11 Jan 07 Space.com: New Comet is Brightest in 30 Years - currently visible around sunset in the Northern Hemisphere. Stand-by for a great show in coming weeks Rob McNaught's tips.
30 Dec 06 NASA NEO News: Arecibo Radar Threatened...+ CNN: Finances cloud future of 'Contact' telescope - "a looming cut in U.S. government financing"..."By bouncing radio waves off asteroids, it also charts their location, speed, course and some other characteristics...". See also SpaceDaily: Radar Love: Asteroid Detection And Science - "microwaves from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico reached out and touched asteroid Apophis on Jan. 27, 29, and 30, 2005. The Arecibo data significantly improved the asteroid's orbital estimate, ruling out a potential Earth collision in 2029. The 1,000-foot diameter Arecibo telescope is one of only two places in the world where radar astronomy is effectively performed. The other is at the 70-meter Goldstone antenna in California's Mojave Desert. The two instruments are complementary. The Arecibo radar is not fully steerable (while Goldstone is), but it is 30 times more sensitive. Together they make a formidable asteroid reconnaissance team...". Comment: The ill-advised budget cuts at Arecibo radio telescope are similar the Australian government's cancellation the Australian component of Spaceguard in 1996.
28 Dec 06 UT: Close Call with Asteroid 2006 XG1 in 2041 - 670m diameter space rock with a 1 in 77,000 chance of hitting the Earth on 31 Oct 2041 (NASA calcs). Further observations will likely eliminate any risk of collision. BUT mankind might not have the accurate instrument to do the job - see item above about Arecibo radio telescope.
12 Dec 06 Space Review: Can we detect asteroid impacts with rocky extrasolar planets? by Michael Paine
18 Nov 06 Space.com: Viewer's Guide: The 2006 Leonid Meteor Shower - [the peak] encounter is predicted for Nov. 19 at 4:45 GMT (see Leonids news & links) - unfortunately it will be about 4pm on Sun 19 Nov in Sydney and the sky won't be dark for another 4 hours. But try early Sunday morning [update: no show in Sydney!]
19 Oct 06 Space.com: Strong Leonid Meteor Shower Expected Nov 18 (see Leonids news & links)
10 Oct 06 BBC: UK to join 'killer' asteroid hunt.
4 Sep 06 Planetary Society: Apophis Mission Design Competition - Will Apophis (see 2 June item below) pass through the "keyhole," the small area on its 2029 path that would cause it to hit Earth on its next orbit in 2036? We have to find out, because if an impact is likely to occur, we're going to need all the time possible to plan and implement space missions to deflect it away from Earth. No government currently has plans to accurately track this potential Earth-impactor - the Planetary Scoiety needs funds to take up this challenge.
3 Jul 06 Space.com: Asteroid Spotting: Skywatchers to Glimpse Close Flyby. It will be early Monday afternoon (daylight!) in Australia. Spaceweather.com tips. 2004 XP14 Planning for radar observations by NASA. JPL data.
17 May 06 Space.com: NASA to Look into NEO Threat Response Proposals - "The U.S. Congress has declared that the general welfare and security of the United States require that the unique competence of NASA be directed to detecting, tracking, cataloguing, and characterizing near-Earth asteroids and comets in order to provide warning and mitigation of the potential hazard of such near-Earth objects to the Earth..." (see also Rocks from Space)
12 May 06 Comet 73P/Schwassman-Wachmann 3 is poorly positioned for viewing from Australia this weekend. Just before dawn it is very low in the northern sky (RA 20h 31m, Dec 27.52 degrees). Northern hemisphere observers will have a much better view.
23 Apr 06 SpaceDaily: Cometary String Of Pearls To Swing Past Earth In May.
26 Jan 06 (Happy Australia Day!) TPS: [Deep Impact] Comet Crater Contest Inconclusive
23 Jan 06 TPS: Donations sought for 2006 Shoemaker NEO Grants. TPS members have been sent a letter of suport from Rusty Schweickart.
3 Nov 05 - speculation about spotting extra-solar impacts
5 Jul 05 TPS report on Deep Impact mission.
4 Jul 05 4pm Sydney time - We have impact (at right - a screen snapshot of the image that JPL people cheered)!
2 Jun 05: A Call for (Considered) Action, Russell L. Schweickart. Abstract, (Word 2000, 21K) Full paper, (.pdf, 883K) B612 Foundation. The 2029/2036 "keyhole" for 2004 MN4 is only 600 metres across - a very small "nudge" would prevent an impact in 2036 (if the NEO would otherwise pass through that keyhole)
21 Mar 05 Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Dec98: Impact cratering through geologic time (updated URL) by Gene Shoemaker (3Mb PDF) - a landmark paper. Covers the various ways of estimating impact rates, the possibility that we are in a peak of comet impacts due to the oscillation of the Sun through the galactic plane and the Australasian Tektite event as an example of the current peak.

5 Feb 05 S&T: ASTEROID 2004 MN4: A REALLY NEAR MISS - a 320m diameter rock will pass within 30,000km of the Earth on Friday 13 April 2029. Since the Earth travels at about 1800km/minute around the Sun a "miss" of 30,000km represents 15 minutes in the least favourable configuration (Earth moves one radius in 3.33 minutes). A 320m asteroid is not particularly "huge" but if it hit it would create a 6km wide crater and flatten buildings out to about 100km.
On 18 December, the object was rediscovered by Gordon Garradd at Siding Spring in New South Wales., Australia. This raised an alert among astronomers who, fortunately, now know that it will miss the Earth in 2029. But it will come back to haunt us in subsequent centuries.
Gordon was a member of Spaceguard Australia, which was disbanded in 1996 when Australian government funding was stopped. In frustration NASA has partly funded his important work.
29 Dec 04 NASA: Possibility of an Earth Impact in 2029 Ruled Out for Asteroid 2004 MN4 "once again old observations provided the data necessary to rule out an impact" (Benny Peiser)) - up until then new observations were suggesting an increased risk of an impact - stay tuned as this story unfolds! Updated Torino Scale.
24 Dec 04 UT: Asteroid 2004 MN4 Gets the Highest Score on the Torino Scale (400m in diameter, 1 in 300 chance of impact in 2029 - further observations will likely eliminate the risk). NASA news release. 2004 MN4 was discovered on 19 June 2004 by Roy Tucker, David Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi of the NASA-funded University of Hawaii Asteroid Survey (UHAS), from Kitt Peak, Arizona, and observed over two nights. On 18 December, the object was rediscovered from Australia by Gordon Garradd of the Siding Spring Survey, another NASA-funded NEA survey.
25 Nov 04 Icarus (abstract): Bias-corrected population, size distribution, and impact hazard for the near-Earth objects - this study suggests that the impact rate is several times lower than earlier estimates.
9 Nov 04 Xinhuanet : CHINA JOINS SPACEGUARD EFFORTS - Largest near-earth objects telescope [in China] installed - still only a small professional search in the Southern Hemisphere.
4 Nov 04: PROTECTING EARTH FROM ASTEROIDS AND COMETS - (PDF) An AIAA Position Paper (2004)... world governments must take the threat of NEO impacts seriously and must support actions that lead to the development of credible defensive capabilities.

8-9 Nov 04: Australian Risk Engineering Conference - RISK 2004.Keynote Speaker - Duncan Steel
7 Oct 04 Abstracts for the proceedings of Bioastronomy 2002: Life Among the Stars now available - several papers concerning microplanets.
12 Aug 04 Comment: Despite good progress towards the US Spaceguard Goal (90% of 1km+ Near Earth Asteroids detected by 2008) there are still plenty of gaps in our defences and no sign of serious support from governments outside the USA and Japan. With sufficient resources there is the potential, within a decade or so, to eliminate the threat of global catastrophe from short period comets (that return to our region of the solar system every few years). The threat of local catastrophe from a Tunguska-like airburst will take much longer to deal with, as will the global threat from long period comets and asteroids. Results from a simulation that derives fatality rates for each type of impactor (the overall risk has reduced since the simualtion was undertaken but the relative contribution is unchanged).
5 Jul 04 :"I ask you to declare your support for these dedicated watchers of the sky by making a donation to The Planetary Society's Gene Shoemaker NEO Grant Fund. Your donation could make a profound difference - for science and for the safety of humankind." Sincerely, Louis D. Friedman
Executive Director -The Planetary Society
Aug 03 NASA: Near Earth Object Science Definition Team Report "Study to determine the feasibility of extending the search for Near Earth Object to smaller limitg diameters". (1.2Mb PDF)
26 May 04 EPSL paper: The hazard of near-Earth asteroid impacts on earth by Clark Chapman (PDF)
20 Apr 04: PLANETARY DEFENCE AT LEARMONTH SOLAR OBSERVATORY - Western Australia (thanks Jay Tate and CCNet)
9 Apr 04 Uni Arizona: ASTRONOMERS TAKE SEARCH FOR EARTH-THREATENING SPACE ROCKS TO SOUTHERN SKIES - Rob McNaught's project comes online. (CC)
26 Feb 04 Space.com: Earth At Risk: New Calls For Planetary Defense. - Developing a viable mitigation campaign, Yeomans explained, demands three prerequisites: "You need to find them early. You need to find them early. And we need to find them early."
20 Feb 04 IAU: Working Group on Near-Earth Objects - Information on Near-Earth Object AL00667
WGNEO STATEMENT ON DEALING WITH SHORT-TERM IMPACT PREDICTIONS
Issued by the IAU Working Group on NEOs (WGNEO). Issue date: 2004 February 19
On the night of January 13/14, 2004, the international asteroid science community faced an unprecedented situation, with an initial prediction of an impact of a small [30m - if it had been as close as first thought] asteroid on the Earth within a few days. [It missed us by millions of km]. Postscript: As an indication of the poor quality of journalism sometimes covering these events, in several US newspapers "30m" was interpreted as 30 miles - now THAT would have caused some excitement!
24 Jan 04 Spacewatch: Online Spacewatch Volunteer Discovers Close-Approaching Asteroid (CC) - Human observers are still much better than computers at finding FMOs in Spacewatch images. But the work is too time intensive for on-duty Spacewatch observers. So the astronomers have turned to 30 volunteers for help. FMO project volunteers are based in the United States, Germany, and Finland.
They would gladly accept more. The only requirements are interest, sharp eyes, and access to a computer when astronomers are operating Spacewatch telescopes on Kitt Peak. More details on how to volunteer for the FMO Project are on the Web at FMO Project.
17 May 05: PDF of talk given at Australian Centre for Astrobiology in 2003: Asteroids - now for the good news in conjunction with a talk by Mark Sonter on asteroid mining.
23 Jul 02 Bioastronomy 2002 paper by Paine and Peiser: The Frequency and Consequences of Cosmic Impacts Since the Demise of the Dinosaurs (280K PDF). A shortened, refereed version is now published in the Proceedings of Bioastronomy 2002: Life Among the Stars. See also CLIMATE, COMETS AND HUMAN HISTORY by Dr Vic Gostin

"No one wants to look back and regret actions not taken" - Dr David Suzuki, The Nature of Things.

'Many might say "But we know of no one that has ever died from an asteroid impact." That's true [in recent times], but then who has ever died from a thermonuclear explosion? Surely no one would claim that they are not dangerous?' - Arthur C Clarke, Foreword to Rogue Asteroids and Doomesday Comets by Duncan Steel.

"No one has ever been killed by a meteorite in the presence of a meteoritist and a medical doctor!" - John Lewis

NEO/Microplanet News

Tsunami News

Leonid meteor shower

Planetary News

Recent items are near the top (posting date shown).
For more news see Spaceguard UK's News page, Spaceviews, NASA's Asteroid/Comet Impact Hazard news page and NEO Office News Page (NNN), The Planetary Society NEO News, The Cosmic Mirror , Cambridge Conference Network(CC), SpaceDaily, Tumbling Stone (SGF/NEODys), SpaceWeather.com (has a list of forthcoming close approaches), Asteroid/Comet Connection, Universe Today (UT- space news from around the Internet, updated every weekday)

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3 Dec 08 NewSci: Has an alien comet infiltrated the solar system? Would not be surprising as passing stars have sometimes travelled through our Oort Cloud.
24 Nov 08 SMH: Opal miner stumbles on [possible] mega meteorite crater.
20 Nov 08 Icarus ($): The orbit and size distribution of small Solar System objects orbiting the Sun interior to the Earth's orbit + Near-Earth asteroid surface roughness depends on compositional class + A derivation of the luminosity function of the Kuiper belt from a broken power-law size distribution + Tentative detection of the rotation of Eris + C/2002 VQ94 (LINEAR) and 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1 - CO+ and N+2 rich comets
19 Nov 08 MIT: Early warning of dangerous asteroids and comets - Detectors developed at Lincoln Laboratory deployed in powerful telescope
14 Nov 08 UT: First Images of Asteroid 2008 TC3 Impact Aftermath.
28 Oct 08 NewSci: Proto-humans mastered fire 790,000 years ago - see also The Frequency and Consequences of Cosmic Impacts Since the Demise of the Dinosaurs (280K PDF)
28 Oct 08 NASA: Closest Planetary System Hosts Two Asteroid Belts.
25 Oct 08 UT: Could Strange Mars Craters be from a Fallen Third Moon?
22 Oct 08 NewSci: Jupiter produced greatest pounding in Earth's history.
17 Oct 08 Space.com: Impact Crater Exhumed from Mars Ice
17 Oct 08 SpaceDaily: Rosetta Encounters Asteroid (2867) Steins
26 Sep 08 Association of Space Explorers (ASE): Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response (PDF)
20 Sep 08 BBC: Europe plans asteroid sample grab.
20 Sep 08 NewSci: Controversial dwarf planet finally named 'Haumea'.
10 Sep 08b TPS: Rosetta Unearths a "Jewel of the Solar System".
6 Sep 08 SpaceDaily: Russia warns of asteroid threat.
6 Sep 08 ESA: Rosetta Steins fly-by confirmed.
3 Sep 08 The Rosetta Blog - online coverage of asteorid fly-by. UT: Countdown to Asteroid Flyby.
26 Aug 08 TPS: Support The Planetary Society Phobos LIFE Project - urgent request for donations to send microbes on a round trip to the Martian moon to test the transpermia hypothesis.
26 Aug 08 UT: Rosetta Prepares for Meet-Up With Asteroid Next Week + How To Save the World From Asteroid Impact: Plastic Wrap (but see this article about deflection techniques - "with such a reflector it is hard to steer -- it can only apply a force directly away from the sun, which is the least helpful direction" + The Register: Aussie has answer to save Earth from asteroid attack.
26 Aug 08 BBC: Sky survey yields new cosmic haul.
24 Aug 08 Icarus ($): Volume 197, Issue 1

20 Aug 08 PR-Inside: Tsunami Memories - Prehistoric Asteroid-Collision on Earth - It would also have killed everything, or almost everything, that was alive at that time on land or near the ocean surface... Related Science article & here
19 Aug 08 Themis: Big Blast - Tunguska-like airburst on Mars?
19 Aug 08 NewSci: First object seen from solar system's inner Oort cloud.
19 Aug 08 UT: Astronomers Find a New "Minor Planet" near Neptune
5 Aug 08 UT: Rosetta Begins Tracking Asteroid Steins for Flyby.
30 Jul 08 NewSci: 'Gravity tractor' could deflect asteroids, NASA study says.
30 Jul 08 Space.com: Small Satellite Designed to Spot Big Bad Asteroids.
28 Jun 08 NewSci: Tunguska: The day the sky exploded.
27 Jun 08 Space.com: Bits of Ancient Earth Hidden on the Moon (see Transpermia) + Life Survived Catastrophic Space Rock Impact (see also Asteroids - now for the good news)
27 Jun 08 NewSci: Ancient impact may have created deep niche for life.
26 Jun 08 Nature: Asteroid smash turned Mars into 'takeaway pizza' planet + The hole at the bottom of the Moon + The burger bar that saved the world (interviews with key Spaceguard people) + Tunguska at 100 (by Duncan Steel) + All craters great and small.
26 Jun 08 iTunes video: Scientific Results of NASA's Deep Impact Mission by Jay Melosh, LPL Evening Lecture Series (Free)
22 Jun 08 Livescience: Asteroid Gravity Tractor Idea: Funded Study.
15 Jun 08 NewSci ($): Roadside crater should have made more of an impact + The Ordovician: Life's second big bang - This revealed a sudden rise in biodiversity around 467 million years ago, just as the area was being bombarded. "It matches the asteroid data more or less precisely..."
5 Jun 08 SpaceRef: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008 - Section VIII has NEOs (thanks David Morrison): The Congress reaffirms the policy direction established in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-155) for NASA to detect, track, catalogue, and characterize the physical characteristics of near-Earth objects equal to or greater than 140 meters in diameter. ..
2 Jun 08 Acta Astronautica ($): Main belt asteroid sample return mission using solar electric propulsion + Rosetta in the year of the swing-bys.
16 May 08 Space.com: Space Rocks Could Reseed Life on Earth (see also Your Ancestors May Be Martian)
15 May 08 The Atlantic: The Sky Is Falling - Oceanic impact research by Dallas Abbott and many other NEO topics.
8 May 08 UT: NASA Considers Manned Asteroid Mission + Asteroid Impact Created a Worldwide Rain of Carbon Beads + Did Earth Have More Than One Moon? + Comet Strikes Increase as We Pass Through the Galactic Plane
6 May 08 SpaceDaily: Did The Solar System Bounce And Kill Off The Dinosaurs[?] - The sun's movement through the Milky Way regularly sends comets hurtling into the inner solar system - coinciding with mass life extinctions on earth, a new study claims. Scientists at the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology built a computer model of our solar system's movement and found that it "bounces" up and down through the plane of the galaxy. (see also Shiva Hypothesis)
3 May 08 NewSci: Did dinosaur-killing asteroid ignite an oily tinderbox? (note that the fires caused by re-entry of ballistic material would have been very patchy)
26 Apr 08 NewSci (Jan08): Comet samples are surprisingly asteroid-like (thanks Oliver Manuel)
13 Apr 08 EPSL ($): Main Deccan volcanism phase ends near the K–T boundary: Evidence from the Krishna–Godavari Basin, SE India "These results suggest that volcanism may have played critical roles in both the K–T mass extinction and the delayed biotic recovery" + Did a mega-collision dry Venus' interior? + 4 ± 1.5 °C abrupt warming 11,270 yr ago identified from trapped air in Greenland ice (does not seem to consider an impact as a cause)
11 Apr 08 Science ($): Determining Chondritic Impactor Size from the Marine Osmium Isotope Record - "Using this method, the authors constrain the size of the end Cretaceous (4 to 6 kilometers) and Eocene (3 kilometers) impactors."
24 Mar 08 ABC: Stinking seas not to blame for (P/T) mass extinctions: scientists
20 Mar 08 WSJ: Keeping the Earth Asteroid-Free Takes Science, Soft Touch Ex-astronaut Rusty Schweickart wants to save the world from an incoming asteroid... + Science ($): Preparing for Doomsday (thanks David Morrison)
20 Mar 08 UT: Geologist Finds a Meteorite Crater in Google Earth + Ancient Asteroids Discovered
19 Mar 08 ABC: Sci-fi guru Arthur C Clarke dies - there are many references to Sir Arthur on these pages.
17 Mar 08 UT: Life Thrived After More Than 100 Meteorites Struck the Earth [comment: If most of these "meteorites " (actually asteroids/comets or my preference microplanets) were around 1km in size then many microscopic lifeforms would be unrattled - at least on a global scale. One such impact every 10,000 years gives plenty of time for recovery. It is "higher" organisms that build dwellings on coastal flats and rely on just-in-time food supplies that are vulnerable to these minor impacts.]
13 Mar 08 NewSci: Meteorite pair may be remnants of a destroyed dwarf planet.
13 Mar 08 BBC: Peru meteorite may rewrite rules. + NewSci: Swarm of meteorites may solve Peru mystery.
12 Mar 08 Space.com: Mysterious Craters Seen on Mercury + Big Crater Carved By Mysterious Meteorite (the Peru event - it was a tiny crater)
12 Mar 08 Nature: They really were the Dark Ages - A massive volcanic eruption brought gloom to the post-Roman world.
10 Mar 08 SpaceDaily: The Tunguska Meteorite As A Warning From Outer Space.
7 Mar 08 Science ($): Experts Find No Evidence for a Mammoth-Killer Impact - A devastating cosmic collision 13,000 years ago continues to play well in the media, but specialists are challenging the grounds for thinking it happened.
7 Mar 08 Nature: 'Death Star' found pointing at Earth - Star-system explosion could threaten life on Earth.
27 Feb 08 BBC: US team wins asteroid competition ... run by the Planetary Society: Planetary Society Names Winners of $50,000 Asteroid Tagging Competition
25 Feb 08 SciAm: NASA's Flimsy Argument for Nuclear Weapons (deflection of asteroids)
15 Feb 08 Space.com: Triple Asteroid Found Near Earth.
12 Feb 08 NewSci ($): Mass extinctions: The microbes strike back
11 Feb 08 UT: Another Asteroid Passes Close to Earth - only 10 metres across and missed us by 135,000km but only discovered 2 days earlier.
2 Feb 08 Space.com: Space Rock Misses Mars, Barely.
2 Feb 08 UT: Recovering from a Mass Extinction is Slow Going
1 Feb 08 NewSci ($): Meteorites: How big is safe?
28 Jan 08 Space.com: Killer Space Rock Theory Is Soaking Wet. (see also Did Asteroid-Induced Firestorm Destroy the Dinosaurs?)
28 Jan 08 SpaceDaily: Meteor impacts can have subtle effects (see also Environmental effects)
28 Jan 08 NewSci: Comet samples are surprisingly asteroid-like + Largest asteroid to come near Earth in 22 years.
24 SMH: Martians in for some contact sport (dubious report that overlooked NASA's last estimate of 1 in 10,000 chance of impact) + IEEE Spectrum: No Asteroid Impact on Mars After All
24 Jan 08 Slashdot: Asteroid Missions May Replace Lunar Base Plans + Popular Mechanics: Dissent Grows as Scientists Oppose NASA’s New Moon Mission (page title is "Planetary Society Criticizes NASA's Manned Moon Plan")
24 Jan 08 UT: When Do Asteroids Turn Dangerous? + Near Earth Asteroid 2007 TU24 Will Make a Close Approach on January 29, 2008
13 Jan 08 Space.com: Space Rock [probably] Won't Wallop Mars, Scientists Say. Odds now 1 in 10,000 after further observations narrow down its path.
4 Jan 08 Space.com: Asteroid's [possible] Martian Impact: What Might Happen. (currently a 1 in 28 chance of impact)
27 Dec 07 Us Govt: Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) – Status of the Survey Program and Review of NASA’s Report to Congress (thanks Rusty Schweickart - see also 13 Nov item)
24 Dec 07 Spaceviz: New video Planetary Defense. Features David Morrison (NASA AMES), Duncan Steel (Space Researcher, Author), Brigadier General Simon P. Worden (USAF, Retired), Donald K. Yeomans (NASA Manager, JPL NEO Program), Clark Chapman (SwRI), Daniel Scheeres (University of Michigan), Michael A'Hearn (Deep Impact, Principal Investigator, University of Maryland), Steven Ostro (JPL, Radar Research), Grant Stokes (LINEAR), Alan W. Harris (DLR, Berlin), Alan W. Harris (SSI), Robert J. Whiteley (University of Arizona), Richard Binzel (MIT), Michael Belton (BSEI, Belton Space Exploration Initiatives), Sir Arthur C. Clarke (Author, "2001: A Space Odyssey"), Freeman J. Dyson (Physicist Emeritus, Princeton), David H. Levy (Co-Disoverer of 'Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9' which impacted with Jupiter in 1994), Rusty Schweickart (Apollo 9 astronaut, Chairman ASE Committee on NEO's) - many of these people were signatories to the letter from 91 scientists to former Prime Minister John Howard in 2002.
22 Dec 07 LA times: Asteroid on track for possible Mars hit - 1 in 75 chance of an impact on 30 January 2008 (thanks David Morrison) + TPS: Space rock could strike Mars.
21 Dec 07 Space.com: Small Asteroids Pose Big New Threat.
21 Dec 07 Springer publications - new book: Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society - An Interdisciplinary Approach (thanks David Morrison) Extract: RECENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE HAZARD OF AN ASTEROID IMPACT by Clark R. Chapman
20 Dec 07 NewSci: Small asteroids can pack a mighty punch - a computer simulation by Mark Boslough of Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico shows that a 30-metre asteroid could have been behind the Tunguska blast. That suggests smaller asteroids can do more damage than previously thought...(see also The Frequency and Consequences of Cosmic Impacts Since the Demise of the Dinosaurs)
18 Dec 07 TPS: The Nov/Dec issue of Planetary Report has an excellent article by Andre Bormanis "Worlds Beyond" (not available online) that describes proposals for manned missions to Near Earth Asteroids.
18 Dec 07 Space.com: The Enduring Mysteries of Asteroids.
14 Dec 07 NewSci ($): Mapping the sky: No star unturned - By around 2020, astronomers say, practically all the asteroids, stars and galaxies that ground-based telescopes could possibly see will be ticked off and catalogued....[?]
12 Dec 07 BBC: Great beasts peppered from space - forget about "smoking guns" - if verified, these are the bullets!
9 Dec 07 New Scientist ($): Did a comet kick-start Earth's plate tectonics? This article is also a good example of the benefits of using the term microplanet for "comets and asteroids". See also Asteroid May Have Created Hawaii
7 Dec 07 NewSci ($): Mass extinctions: The Armageddon factor.
7 Dec 07 BBC: Meteorite dates lunar volcanoes.
25 Nov 07 The Age: Howard concedes election ... [opinion] some 11 years after he cancelled the Australian Spaceguard program. 100s of Near Earth Asteroids have passed through southern skies unnoticed in that time. Some may pose a future threat to Earth and up to 11 years will have been lost in mitigating that threat.
17 Nov 07 Space.com: Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks This Weekend - see also Leonid page
16 Nov 07 SpaceDaily: Predicting Apophis' Earth Encounters In 2029 And 2036.
12 Nov 07 NewSci: NASA blasted for ignoring smaller asteroids + NASA: Congressional Hearings on NEO Survey Programs (testimonies)
6 Nov 07 NewSci: Dazzling comet outburst continues to mystify.
3 Nov 07 SpaceDaily: Catch A Comet - No Telescope Required.
29 Oct 07 SpaceDaily: Protecting Earth Against Asteroids
13 Oct 07 NewSci: Are mirrors the best way to deflect asteroids?
13 Oct 07 Space.com: NASA's Dawn Asteroid Probe Tests Ion Engine.
13 Oct 07 MIT (pending): Asteroid is "practice case" for potential hazards.
8 Oct 07 NewSci: Did an ancient impact bowl Pluto over?
8 Oct 07 Space.com: Potentially Threatening Space Rock Rediscovered + Fireball in the Sky Spotted in Minnesota, Iowa.
8 Oct 07 BBC: Mirrors 'could deflect' asteroids (See also Defending Earth)
4 Oct 07 Space.com: Comet's Tail Tames Sun's Fury + Group Renames Asteroid for George Takei ("Sulu" from Star Trek)
4 Oct 07 SpaceDaily: Asteroid Flyby In 2029 Still A Concern Warns Russian Astronomer.
29 Sep 07 NewSci: Mysteries remain over Peru meteorite impact.
29 Sep 07 EPSL ($): Isotopic fractionation of germanium in iron meteorites + Shock-induced metallic iron nanoparticles in olivine-rich Martian meteorites (there could be pure iron nanoparticles in martian rocks) + Disruption of the L chondrite parent body.
28 Sep 07 SpaceDaily: Blowing A Hole In A Comet: Take 2.
26 Sep 07 New Scientist: Earth's water brewed at home, not in space + Odd object blurs line between comets and asteroids (see also Microplanet)
26 Sep 07 MIT tether could aid asteroid missions (link pending)
26 Sep 07 JPL: NASA [Dawn] Spacecraft is a 'Go' for Asteroid Belt.
21 Sep 07 New Sci ($): Moon's gentle surface could hide life's secrets (ancient Earth rocks scattered to the Moon) + Radiation in the clear over dinosaur deaths.
21 Sep 07 Houston Chronicle: Meteorite likely caused crater in Peru (thanks David Morrison)
19 Sep 07 ABC: Locals fall sick after meteorite lands in Peru.
17 Sep 07 UT: The Triangle that Skimmed Past the Earth [in 2002]: Asteroid 2002 NY40.
17 Aug 07 NewSci: Did life begin on comets?
14 Sep 07 BBC: Neanderthal climate link debated.
7 Sep 07 NewSci ($): Cosmic 'baby bouncer' could tie astronauts to asteroids.
6 Sep 07 NewSci: World's biggest digital camera to join asteroid search + Discovered: The asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs + Space.com: Dino-Killing Asteroid Traced to Cosmic Collision.
1 Sep 07 BBC: UK plan to track asteroid threat.
27 Aug 07 New Scientist: Jupiter increases risk of comet strike on Earth.
23 Aug 07 Wired Magazine: Ex-Astronaut's Lonely Mission: Save Earth From Asteroid Strike (thanks David Morrison)
23 Aug 07 NASA NEO News: DID AN EXPLODING COMET KILL NORTH AMERICAN MEGAFAUNA AT END OF LAST ICE AGE?
23 Aug 07 AIAA: Searching out a cosmic disaster...and opportunity (thanks David Morrison)
16 Aug 07 UT: Did an Exploding Comet Cause Extinctions 13,000 Years Ago? NSF news release. See also environmental effects of impacts
11 Aug 07 Space.com: 'Great Show': Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Sunday Night + Tips + BBC: Stargazers set sights on meteors.
10 Aug 07 Universe Today: An Experiment to Test Panspermia. - see also Transpermia.
10 Aug 07 New Scientist ($): Drill into asteroids to stop them hitting Earth.
5 Aug 07 New Scientist: Asteroid deflection - Clark Chapman responds to comments about the gravity tractor proposal (also search this page for "tug")
31 Jul 07 Space.com: NASA Insiders Propose Stepping Stone Path to Deep Space - human missions to NEOs
25 Jul 07 Economist: The threat from outer space - The ultimate environmental catastrophe ... perhaps the biggest problem is humanity’s indifference. (thanks David Morrison)
14 Jul 07 NASA NEO News: Request for Congressional Hearing & other Reactions to NASA NEO Report.
14 Jul 07 NewSci ($): Comment: How not to save the planet (Clark Chapman on NASA's asteroid plans)
6 Jun 07 NASA: 2006 Near-Earth Object Survey and Deflection Study: Final Report + Clark Chapman: Critique of "2006 Near-Earth Object Survey and Deflection Study: Final Report" Published 28 Dec. 2006 by NASA Hq. Program Analysis & Evaluation Office (Word doc) + Summary and Recommendations from AIAA Planetary Defense Conference (thanks David Morrison)
30 May 07 Space.com: Ex-Astronaut Says NASA Asteroid Report Flawed - "NASA basically pulled off a federal agency version of civil disobedience"
22 May 07 BBC: Ice Age blast 'ravaged America' - see also The Frequency and Consequences of Cosmic Impacts Since the Demise of the Dinosaurs
25 Apr 07 Space.com: Out-of-This-World Hypothesis: Cosmic Forces Control Life on Earth - see also Shiva Hypothesis.
20 Apr 07 PSRD: Cosmochemical studies and dynamical models of protoplanetary collisions suggest a new origin for iron meteorites.
20 Apr 07 Icarus ($): Photometric analysis and disk-resolved thermal modeling of Comet 19P/Borrelly from Deep Space 1 data + Albedo and size determination of potentially hazardous asteroids: (99942) Apophis - we find that Apophis has a diameter of 270±60 m, slightly smaller than preliminary estimates...
19 Apr 07 NewSci: Ancient impact may have bowled the Moon over.
12 Apr 07 Space.com: Software Models Consequences Of Asteroid Strikes - see also this simulation. Note the latest one appears to exaggerate the consequences of impact tsunami (200m asteroid do not cause ocean-wide tsunami) + Uni Southampton: New research tool indicates those countries most at risk of 'small' asteroid impact.
9 Apr 07 SpaceDaily: Deep Impact Extended Mission Could Probe Deeper Into Solar System Origin.
7 Apr 07 EPSL: Chromium isotopic studies of terrestrial impact craters: Identification of meteoritic components at Bosumtwi, Clearwater East, Lappajärvi, and Rochechouart + High- and low-latitude orbital forcing of early hominin habitats in South Africa (see also The Frequency and Consequences of Cosmic Impacts Since the Demise of the Dinosaurs ) + Non-chondritic magnesium and the origins of the inner terrestrial planets + Paleophysiology and end-Permian mass extinction.
6 Apr 07 SpaceDaily: Searching For The Grandest Asteroid Tour.
3 Apr 07 UT: Double Asteroids Revealed as Twin Piles of Rubble.
31 Mar 07 BBC: UK impact crater debate heats up.
29 Mar 07 SMH: It was a meteorite, not a satellite, says Russia.
27 Mar 07 Space.com: Green Comet Spotted Down Under +