A leaker from JGR:Planets, June (vol. 130 #6): Rossmann, F. M. Johnson, C. L. Bierhaus, E. B. The Meter-Scale Roughness of Asteroid (101955) Bennu From the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter e2024JE008799 2024JE008799 Lasers on probes- they just keep on giving. Nominally, the… Read More »Note, Paper: Bennu Boulder Total
The journal called “Space Science Reviews” means all three. Just now (vol. 221), they have covered the Lucy mission, and covered it quite well: Levison, H.F. Marchi, S. Noll, K.S. et al. NASA’S Lucy Mission to Trojan Asteroids: Unraveling the… Read More »Space Science Reviews Lucy
Courtesy of Planetary Science News: NEO SURVEYOR MOVING OBJECT SCIENTIST AT IPAC The Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) at Caltech invites applications for the position of Moving Object Scientist for the NEO Surveyor Survey Data System (NSDS). IPAC is… Read More »NEOSM Listing
The 2025 edition of the annual Goldschmidt Conference will be held in Prague next week. https://conf.goldschmidt.info/goldschmidt/2025/meetingapp.cgi/Home/0 For starters, Victor Goldschmidt basically founded the modern science of cosmochemistry. He named the element categories- lithophiles, chalcophiles, siderophiles, and atmophiles- we use today… Read More »Goldschmidt 2025
It’s official and it’s named. The object, provisionally designated A11pl3Z, showed ‘fuzziness’ (nebulosity, likely from activity) and was then given the comet designation C/2025 N1. Official discovery credit goes to the ATLAS network, Chile site (Rio Hurtado)- hence, the third designation.… Read More »Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS
The coverage and hoopla around the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have died down a bit. Mentioned briefly in the First Look Event was the Skyviewer “app” (actually an interactive website, skyviewer.app), which includes a sonification tool (Skysynth). This site/app allows… Read More »Vera Rubin Uploading
Quickly, the July 1 Astrophysical Journal Letters (vol. 987 #1) contains: Sheppard, S. S. Hsieh, H. H. Pokorný, P. et al. Colors and Dynamics of a Near-Sun Orbital Asteroid Family: 2021 PH27 and 2025 GN1 L18 ade3da Sheppard et al. picked… Read More »Note, Paper: Separated At Near-Earth
The University of Hawaii announced on Friday that the UKIRT telescope on Maunakea is, officially, to be decommissioned: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2025/06/27/uh-to-decommission-3rd-maunakea-telescope/ UKIRT once stood for “United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope.” Which may have you thinking, “wait- why is the University of Hawaii telling… Read More »Infrared Telescope ‘Insolvent’
Astronomy and Astrophysics for June (vol. 699) is shorter than usual. Still, consider the following: Smirnov, E. A. Chaotic diffusion and transient resonance captures of the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 A26 202554489 Zhang, Y. Xu, Y-B. Qi, Z. et al. … Read More »Note, Paper: NEO Heat-Pieces
Okay, one more Rubin Observatory post: gizmodo.com/rubin-observatorys-stunning-result-proves-its-a-game-changer-for-spotting-dangerous-asteroids-2000621581 I’ve already posted that the Vera Rubin Observatory will be– and now demonstrates it is– the new and undisputed champion of asteroid discovery. Let the conspiracy theory nuts take heed: NASA is not… Read More »Vera Rubin Upstanding