asteroid 5261eureka (mars trojan) frames taken 10 minutes apart, tracking asteroid motion
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Asteroid 5261Eureka (Mars Trojan) Frames taken 10 minutes apart, tracking asteroid motion. Discovery of Asteroids. Asteroid 1 Ceres discovered 1801 January 1 by Giuseppe Piazzi in Palermo, Sicily, and observed for 40 nights. Discovery of Asteroids. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Asteroid 5261Eureka (Mars Trojan)Frames taken 10 minutes apart, tracking asteroid motion
Discovery of Asteroids
● Asteroid 1 Ceres discovered 1801 January 1 by Giuseppe Piazzi in Palermo, Sicily, and observed for 40 nights.
Discovery of Asteroids
● Asteroid 1 Ceres discovered 1801 January 1 by Giuseppe Piazzi in Palermo, Sicily, and observed for 40 nights.
● Carl Friedrich Gauss invents “Gauss’ Method” of orbit determination to allow recovery in 1802.
Discovery of Asteroids
● Asteroid 1 Ceres discovered 1801 January 1 by Giuseppe Piazzi in Palermo, Sicily, and observed for 40 nights.
● Carl Friedrich Gauss invents “Gauss’ Method” of orbit determination to allow recovery in 1802.
● Three more asteroids discovered over the next few years, no more until 1847.
Discovery of Asteroids● 3000 numbered by 1985.● 20957 numbered as of 2000 Jan 19.● 26073 numbered as of 2001 June 7● 43721 numbered as of 2002 June 24.● 65634 numbered as of 2003 June 19.● 85117 numbered as of 2004 June 14● 99947 numbered as of June 2005, then a 5 month
hiatus.● 129437 numbered as of 2006 June 19● 189005 numbered as of 2008 June 20● 241562 numbered as of 2010 May 27● 279722 numbered as of 2011 May 17
Near-Earth Asteroid Discoveries
Why Study Asteroids?
● Solar System Formation– Many asteroids are believed to be relatively
unprocessed remnants of Solar-System formation.
Why Study Asteroids?
● Solar System Formation– Many asteroids are believed to be relatively
unprocessed remnants of Solar-System formation.● Space Resources
– Substantial colonization of space requires bulk materials that are too expensive to haul from Earth. Near-Earth asteroids can provide a very low delta-V source of materials.
Meteorites
Meteorites provide samples of extraterrestrial bodies, but where did they come from?
Los Angeles Shergottite (Martian Meteorite)
Korra Korrabes H3 ChondriteOrigin Unknown
Bilanga Meteorite
5 mm across
Why Study Asteroids?
● Solar System Formation– Many asteroids are believed to be relatively
unprocessed remnants of Solar-System formation● Space Resources
– Substantial colonization of space requires bulk materials that are too expensive to haul from Earth. Near-Earth asteroids can provide a very low delta-V source of materials.
● Impact Hazard
Fig. 8-28, p. 179
Impact Hazard
Where are the Asteroids?
When Worlds Collide
Meteorites are fragments of asteroids created in a collision
Collisional Evolution
Asteroids and Meteorites
● Meteorites can be studied in great detail. ● Almost all of our understanding of Solar System
formation and evolution comes from analysis of meteorites.
● We typically have little information as to their parent bodies.
● What do we learn from the asteroids themselves?
Eight-Color Asteroid Survey(1980s)
Modern Asteroid Spectroscopy
Mineral Spectra
Modern Asteroid Spectra
Overlapping overtones of H2O/OH at 3 microns, from 2.6–2.85 lost to atmosphere
951 Gaspra
Dactyl
433 Eros
253 Mathilde
1999 JM8
radar astronomyThe basics:
A radar transmitter transmits radio waves at a known frequency for a certain time interval.
The waves hit the object, bounce off of it, and return to the telescope. The receiver, now moved into the focus of the telescope, detects the weak echo.
Transmitted wave
Echo from distant object
Planetary Radar● Absolute calibration to speed of light.● Extremely high fractional precision.● Astronomical Unit.
– And thus all parallax-based distance measurements.● Rotation rate of Mercury.
– Not sun-synchronous.● Images of Venus.● Tests of general relativity.● Ice at the poles of Mercury.
Ice at the Poles of Mercury
Ice at the Poles of Mercury
asteroid experiments
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• Two main types of radar experiments can be performed on asteroids
1. Continuous Wave Experiments• Uses continuous 2380 MHz wave• Produces one-dimensional spectra• Provides information on rotational velocity,
composition, and orbit of asteroid
2. Ranging Experiments• Uses encoded 2380 MHz wave• Produces 2D Delay-Doppler images• Provides information on size, shape, and
spin state of asteroid
continuous wave
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• For continuous wave (CW) experiments, we send a constant, umodulated 2380 MHz signal
• Upon reflection, the echo consists of many waves of slightly different frequencies• It is Doppler shifted as a result of the rotation of the asteroid
time
V
Fourier transform the echo to get the
spectrum
asteroid spectra
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• A spectrum is obtained by taking the Fourier transform of the echo• Gives the strength of each
reflected frequency• Determine resolution after data
has been taken!
• From the bandwidth, one can determine the rotational velocity of the asteroid
cv2
length FFTrate sample resolution moving towardmoving away
BW
devi
atio
n from
noise
1998 FH12
Hz from ephemeris
asteroid images• Delay Doppler images map a 3D object into a 2D image
• Circles: Represent lines of constant range• Lines: Represent lines of constant Doppler shift
range
Doppler shift
Direction of radar illumination
Direction of radar illumination
13
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• Delay Doppler images map a 3D object into a 2D image• Circles: Represent lines of constant range• Lines: Represent lines of constant Doppler shift
• Like cutting a potato up into many individual pieces (or pixels)
range
Doppler shift
asteroid images
13
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#1 #2 #3
pole
• One important piece of information we obtain from the Delay-Doppler images is the size of the asteroid• The extent of the asteroid in range indicates its radius
asteroid images
rKnowing the size
and rot. velocity of the asteroid gives
its period
• The frequency resolution is selected after the data has been collected by adjusting the FFT length
• The range resolution is fixed by the sampling rate• Common sampling rate for image = 100ns (or 15 m)
Changing Frequency Resolution● Can rescale frequency to increase SNR of fast
rotator.● Eye is pretty good at picking out linear structure
anyway.
MODEL OF 216 KLEOPATRA FROM ARECIBO RADAR DELAY-DOPPLER IMAGES COLOR
CODED FOR GRAVITATIONAL SLOPES
2003 YT1 May 2 May 3
2001 SN263
12 13 14 18 21 23 24 26
2001 SN263
1999 KW4 viewed in orbit plane
1996 HW1
Internal Structure● We measure Shape and Spin, which provide information on
internal structure.– Sphere strengthless
– Slowly-rotating bar tidally stretched (strengthless)?
– Fast-rotating bar at least some tensile strength
– Very irregular collisional fragment?
● The gross physical structure of NEAs is critical to all of the conventional reasons for studying them: – Meteorite delivery Space resources
– Hazard mitigation
● We see all kinds, implying multiple formation mechanisms
Summary: Variety● In spite of our attempt to classify NEAs, the
clearest observation is their great Variety.● Spacecraft images can be more detailed than radar
images, and can be more complete, but the vastly larger number of objects observable by radar allows us to detect and explore this variety.
● Radar imaging can be used to aid in spacecraft target selection, and to identify the most interesting targets for further study.
asteroid armageddon?
Asteroid impact* Airplane crash
Likelihood of death 1 in 20,000 1 in 20,000
Frequency of event
1 in 10,000,000 years ~40 a year
Number of casualties All life on Earth 1-3000
people
Scientists also study asteroids because of the potential hazards they pose to the Earth:
*Data based on a 7.0 km asteroid.
Hazard per Year
Normalized Hazard
Comparison to Other Causes(Deaths per Year)
● Cancer 473 000● Suicide 30 000● Homicide 19 000● Car Crash 46 000● AIDS 15 600
● Falls 12 000
● Drowning 5 000● Fires/Burns 5
000● Falling objects1 000● Impact 200From Weissman (1994), “The Comet and Asteroid Impact Hazard in
Perspective,” in Hazards of Near-Earth Space, p1191, and other sources
Preventable DeathsWorldwide average, normalized to US population.
● Vaccine Preventable Diseases 129 000● Antibiotic Preventable Diseases 225 000● Diarrhea 185 000● Globally Destructive Impact 200
What's the Comparison?● Impact can cause global, civilization-destroying
catastrophe. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
● Drama: Air travel is much safer than automobile travel, but people drive because they are afraid to fly.
● AIDS: Since the impact hazard came under study, AIDS became a clear worldwide hazard, and receives much more funding.
● Terrorism: Since the impact hazard came under study, terrorism became a clear worldwide concern (but perhaps not a hazard), and also receives much more funding.
Minimizing the Hazard
● Radar distance measurements improve our knowledge of the position of a “potentially hazardous” asteroid by orders of magnitude.
● Radar imaging of asteroids provides a “faster, cheaper” way to image these objects.