[FPSPACE] FW: IfA: Asteroid Apophis - Good News & Bad News

[LARRY KLAES]

> Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2009 17:56:38 -0400
> Subject: IfA: Asteroid Apophis - Good News & Bad News
> From: rick.fienberg at aas.org
> To: Rick.Fienberg at aas.org
> 
> THE FOLLOWING RELEASE WAS RECEIVED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT
> MANOA’S INSTITUTE FOR ASTRONOMY IN HONOLULU AND IS FORWARDED FOR YOUR
> INFORMATION. (FORWARDING DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT BY THE AMERICAN
> ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.) Rick Fienberg, American Astronomical Society:
> rick.fienberg at aas.org, 1-202-328-2010 x116.
> 
> October 7, 2009
> 
> Media Contact:
> Mrs. Karen Rehbock
> +1 808-956-6829
> rehbock at ifa.hawaii.edu
> 
> Science Contact:
> Dr. David Tholen
> tholen at ifa.hawaii.edu
> 
> Online version of this release, including high-resolution photo:
> http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/Apophis-TholenOct09/
> 
> ASTEROID APOPHIS: SOME GOOD NEWS AND SOME BAD NEWS
> 
> University of Hawaii asteroid hunter Dr. David Tholen has some good
> news and some bad news for us. The good news is that the estimated
> probability of asteroid Apophis colliding with Earth in 2036 has been
> reduced from 1 chance in about 45,000 to 1 chance in about 250,000.
> The bad news is that the improved orbit determination for Apophis has
> revealed a new impact possibility in 2068.
> 
> The new estimates are based on an extensive set of observations
> obtained at Mauna Kea Observatories and analyzed by Tholen, former UH
> postdoctoral researcher Dr. Fabrizio Bernardi (now at the University
> of Pisa, Italy), and current UH graduate students Marco Micheli and
> Garrett Elliott. Dr. Steve Chesley of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
> California determined the positions of Apophis derived from those
> observations.
> 
> “Our new orbit solution shows that Apophis will miss Earth’s surface
> in 2036 by a scant 20,270 miles, give or take 125 miles,” Tholen said.
> “That’s slightly closer to Earth than most of our communications and
> weather satellites.” He credits the large telescopes and superb
> atmospheric conditions on Mauna Kea for being able to make these
> determinations.
> 
> With the possibility of an impact in 2068, Apophis will become the
> target of even more observations as soon as it reappears from behind
> the Sun in 2010 and beyond.
> 
> Apophis was discovered in 2004 by Tholen, Bernardi, and Roy Tucker of
> the University of Arizona. The asteroid became famous about six months
> later when additional observations indicated an impact probability as
> high as 1 chance in 37 on April 13, 2029 (coincidentally, a Friday).
> But prediscovery observations identified in data taken earlier in that
> year soon showed that the asteroid would miss Earth in 2029.
> 
> The improved orbit determination is being presented this week at the
> annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American
> Astronomical Society being held in Puerto Rico.
> 
> # # #
> 
> Jet Propulsion Laboratory news release:
> http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-151
> 
> Founded in 1967, the Institute for Astronomy at the University of
> Hawaii at Manoa conducts research into galaxies, cosmology, stars,
> planets, and the sun. Its faculty and staff are also involved in
> astronomy education, deep space missions, and in the development and
> management of the observatories on Haleakala and Mauna Kea.
> 
> Established in 1907 and fully accredited by the Western Association of
> Schools and Colleges, the University of Hawaii is the state’s sole
> public system of higher education. The UH System provides an array of
> undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees and community
> programs on 10 campuses and through educational, training, and
> research centers across the state. UH enrolls more than 50,000
> students from Hawaii, the U.S. mainland, and around the world.
> 
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> Fienberg, AAS Press Officer: rick.fienberg at aas.org, telephone
> 1-202-328-2010 x116.
 		 	   		  
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