WEBVTT - How Do We Find Asteroids Inside Earth's Orbit?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>laurin voge obamb here as fighter pilots in World Wars

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<v Speaker 1>one and two were acutely aware attacking an enemy aircraft

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<v Speaker 1>from the direction of the Sun was a very effective

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<v Speaker 1>tactic to catch your target by surprise. The glare of

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<v Speaker 1>sunlight provided cover until it was too late for the

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<v Speaker 1>opponent to react. While asteroids don't consciously have this tactic

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<v Speaker 1>in mind, we hope astronomers are extremely mindful that the

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<v Speaker 1>Sun maybe hiding a cache of undiscovered and potentially hazard

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<v Speaker 1>as asteroids within its glare. This concern was highlighted by

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<v Speaker 1>the July announcement that is surprisingly big asteroid with the

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<v Speaker 1>shortest known year was discovered by this wiki transient facility,

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<v Speaker 1>a powerful camera at the Palomar Observatory in California. The asteroid,

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<v Speaker 1>designated nine l F six, is point six miles or

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<v Speaker 1>one kilometer wide and orbits the Sun entirely inside Earth's orbit.

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<v Speaker 1>It completes one orbit every one hundred and fifty one

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<v Speaker 1>Earth days. It zooms from within the orbit of Mercury,

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<v Speaker 1>which orbits the Sun every eighty eight days, to as

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<v Speaker 1>far out as Venus, which has a two twenty five

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<v Speaker 1>day orbit in a wonky trajectory that flings it out

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<v Speaker 1>of the orbital plane in the process, a sign that

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<v Speaker 1>it was once gravitationally disturbed by one of the two

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<v Speaker 1>planets in the past. This rare space rock belongs to

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<v Speaker 1>a very exclusive group of asteroids known as Tira asteroids,

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<v Speaker 1>which orbit the Sun closer than Earth. There are only

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<v Speaker 1>twenty known to exist. The fact that they fly between

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<v Speaker 1>us and the Sun makes them uniquely difficult objects to detect,

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<v Speaker 1>but even for an a Tira asteroid, l F six

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<v Speaker 1>didn't make it easy. Most asteroids of its size have

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<v Speaker 1>already been found, but it's unique orbit evaded decades of

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<v Speaker 1>organized searches. Asteroid l F six was detected as part

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<v Speaker 1>of the Twilight Campaign. As the name suggests, the best

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<v Speaker 1>time to observe asteroids such as these is during the

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<v Speaker 1>short period of twilight, just after sunset but before dark.

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<v Speaker 1>The campaign, which was developed by researchers at the National

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<v Speaker 1>Central University in Taiwan, discovered another a Tira asteroid designated

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<v Speaker 1>twenty nine a Q three in January of a Q

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<v Speaker 1>three has a one d and sixty five day orbit

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<v Speaker 1>around the Sun in addition these, Wiki transient facility has

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<v Speaker 1>identified around two thousand asteroids living in the main asteroid

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<v Speaker 1>belt between Mars and Jupiter, plus an impressive hall of

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred Near Earth objects or n e o s,

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<v Speaker 1>which are commons and asteroids whose orbits bring them within

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<v Speaker 1>relatively close proximity to Earth. In addition to the Twilight campaign,

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<v Speaker 1>a proposed NASA spacecraft called the Near Earth Object Camera

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<v Speaker 1>or NEOCam, will also be able to study the inner

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<v Speaker 1>Solar System for more A Tira asteroids by seeking out

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<v Speaker 1>their heat signature. We spoke with George Hallow, a researcher

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<v Speaker 1>at Caltech and memory of the discovery team. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>because A Tira asteroids are closer to the Sun and

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<v Speaker 1>warmer than other asteroids, they're brighter in the infrared. Neo

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<v Speaker 1>CAM has the double advantage of its location in space

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<v Speaker 1>and its infrared capability to find these asteroids more easily

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<v Speaker 1>than telescopes working at visible wavelengths from the ground. The

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<v Speaker 1>Near Earth objects are of particular interest because, on the

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<v Speaker 1>optimistic end, they might potentially be future sites of landings

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<v Speaker 1>and research. On the pessimistic end, they could possibly collide

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<v Speaker 1>with Earth. Since NASA began it's any O Observations program.

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<v Speaker 1>The agency estimates that it's discovered more than of near

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<v Speaker 1>Earth asteroids measuring point six miles or one kilometer and larger.

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<v Speaker 1>While l F six has been classified as a near

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<v Speaker 1>Earth asteroid and is therefore part of a dwindling group

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<v Speaker 1>of undiscovered objects of this size, it's not considered a

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<v Speaker 1>threat to Earth. Simulations of its future orbits indicate no

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<v Speaker 1>eminent likelihood of a future collision. However, it is a

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<v Speaker 1>reminder that these substantial asteroids are still out there, and

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<v Speaker 1>projects like these Wiki Transient Facility can probe The Inner

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<v Speaker 1>Solar System or the Sun may be hiding them. So

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<v Speaker 1>for now, while Earth is safe from being smashed by

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<v Speaker 1>large space that could cause global damage, astronomers are on

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<v Speaker 1>high alert to ensure that we won't get blindsided by

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<v Speaker 1>the glare of the Sun. Today's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Dr Ian O'Neill and produced by Tyler clay. A Brainstuff

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other probably safe topics,

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