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(meteorobs) Excerpts from "CCNet DIGEST, 8 July 1999"
------- Forwarded Message
From: Benny J Peiser <b.j.peiser@livjm.acdot uk>
To: cambridge-conference@livjm.acdot uk
Subject: CCNet DIGEST 8 July 1999
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1999 12:48:26 -0400 (EDT)
CCNet DIGEST, 8 July 1999
--------------------------
(1) NEWS ROUNDUP ON THE NEW ZEALAND METEOR SIGHTINGS
Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utorontodot ca>
[...]
(5) NASA TAPS DAVID THOLEN FOR MUSES-C ASTEROID MISSION
Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utorontodot ca>
(6) NASA SELECTS MISSIONS TO MERCURY AND A COMET'S INTERIOR AS NEXT=20
DISCOVERY FLIGHTS
NASA NEWS <NASANews@hq.nasadot gov>
[...]
=================================================
(1) NEWS ROUNDUP ON THE NEW ZEALAND METEOR SIGHTINGS
>From Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utorontodot ca>
Hi Benny,
Here's a news roundup on the New Zealand meteor sightings. Note the=20
links to an amateur video in the AP story, and a still photo in the NZ=20
Herald story.
*****
[http://asia.yahoo.com/headlines/070799/technology/931327620-90707060728=
.technology.html]
Huge meteor sweeps across New Zealand
Wednesday, July 7, 1999, 2:07 AM EDT
AUCKLAND (AFP) -- A huge fireball or meteor swept across New Zealand=20
Wednesday afternoon, seen by thousands around large area of the=20
country, media reported. Television New Zealand said fragments had come =
to ground in several parts of the country but there were no reports of=20
damage. TV3 Network said the fragments were briefly monitored by air
traffic control.
Copyright =A9 1999 Agence France-Presses. All rights reserved.
*****
[http://cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9907/07/BC-NewZealand-Meteor.ap/]
Wednesday, July 7, 1999, 10:27 a.m. EDT
Meteor Explodes Above New Zealand
By RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A meteor exploded in the sky above New=20
Zealand on Wednesday, casting an eerie blue light and showering the=20
earth with fragments from space.
The explosion at 4:15 p.m. (1:15 a.m. EDT) was followed by smoke and a=20
flood of phone calls from people who saw the meteor streaking across=20
the sky, the Carter Observatory in Wellington said. No injuries were=20
reported.
"It was picked up by aircraft and on radar, so we've had some air=20
traffic controllers calling too,'' said John Field, the observatory's=20
public programs officer. The meteor was likely to have been either=20
metal or rock and was probably as big as a car, Field said. A rock=20
meteor would have broken up into a shower of stones as it came through=20
the atmosphere. On average, one meteor falls to Earth each week, he=20
said.
Police said hundreds of people reported seeing the meteor over a remote =
part of New Zealand's North Island -- between the cities of Napier on=20
the east coast and New Plymouth on the west coast.
=20
After a loud explosion, the meteor apparently broke up in the=20
atmosphere, leaving a vapor trail and blue cloud hanging, police said.
Reports of objects falling to the ground were received across the=20
region, police said, but no pieces have been reported found.
Brendon Bradley, an instructor with the New Plymouth Aero Club, said he =
was flying when he saw the meteor.
"It was just a bright light, exactly like a flare,'' he said.=20
"Afterwards there was smoke in the sky." Other witnesses described a=20
bright flash, followed by an explosion and a cloud of brown smoke.
"A big fiery ball came down. There was a terrific red glow and it sort=20
of went pop," said Eric Ray, a resident of the town of Te Aroha. One=20
man told police the explosion sounded like a natural gas tanker=20
igniting.
[Video: http://tvone.co.nz/news/movies/meteor_explodes.avi]
Amateur video seconds after the explosion.
Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
*****
[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nzherald99/story.cfm?theStoryID=3D10004]
Thursday, July 8, 1999
Shooting star goes pop, boom, bang
By Stacey Bodger and Philip English=20
The shooting star that raced over New Zealand skies from Nelson to=20
Napier yesterday might have been the size of a pea but could be more=20
valuable than gold.=20
Dr Joel Schiff, editor of the international Meteorite magazine, urged=20
people to look for the remains not only because of the scientific value =
but also because the rarity of recovered meteorites made them highly=20
valuable.=20
The meteor was seen leaving a trail of smoke in the sky before it was=20
heard detonating in the atmosphere as a pop in Te Aroha, a boom in=20
Taranaki and an explosion in Napier. The explosion was so loud that
many people thought a plane had crashed in the suburb of Bay View.=20
However, Dr Schiff said it was probably a rock the size of a pea or=20
perhaps the size of an apple which had been blasted on course for New=20
Zealand following a collision in the asteroid belt between Mars and=20
Jupiter.=20
It was not known last night whether any part of it reached the ground=20
after the explosion but Dr Schiff, of the University of Auckland maths=20
department, said people should look for small black rocks with a crusty =
outside as if they had been barbecued.=20
"Many of them are much more valuable than gold. "There are a few that=20
have come from Mars. Some have been blasted off the moon. "If you found =
a piece of the moon in your backyard -- if this turned out to be
a piece of the moon and there's a very small chance it could be -- you =
could
retire for life no matter how small it was."=20
The meteorite was also probably older than rocks on Earth. It would be=20
4.5 billion years old, the same age as the solar system, while the=20
oldest rocks on Earth subjected to the planet's geological processes=20
are about 3.8 billion years old.=20
"People near where the detonation took place should definitely look=20
under every rose bush and leave no stone unturned. There is a chance=20
something could be found but people will have to scour the area."=20
The Carter Observatory in Wellington received reports of the meteorite=20
about 4:15 pm. It was picked up by aircraft and radar. Victoria Radley, =
of Tukino, Mt Ruapehu, said she saw an extremely bright light shooting=20
across the sky at a tremendous speed and then dropping to the ground.=20
It was travelling beneath the sun and resembled a shooting star except=20
that its point of light was much bigger.
Pictured: Smoke from the meteor's explosion.=20
=A9 Copyright 1999, NZ Herald
*****
[http://203.98.9.153/news/1999/07/07/00007157.htm]
Wednesday, July 07, 1999=20
Flood of calls over meteorite=20
Police say it appears a meteorite hit the ground near Napier.=20
The police have had hundreds of calls from throughout the central North =
Island reporting a loud explosion and smoke in the sky.
They say it appears something travelling west to east hit a hill near =
the
suburb of Bay View near Napier.
The fire service and Civil Aviation also say they have received reports =
of a meteorite over the upper to central North Island.
Civil Aviation says a number of pilots reported seeing bright lights =
and
explosions in the sky, particularly in Tarakani.
ONE News | Copyright =A9 TVNZ: 1999. All rights reserved.
*****
[http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/sc/story.html?s=3Dv/nm/19990708/sc=
/space_newzealand_1.html]
Thursday, July 8, 1999, 12:46 AM EDT
Meteor's Sonic Boom Shakes NZ Seismographs
WELLINGTON (Reuters) -- A sonic boom created by a meteor passing low=20
over New Zealand's North Island was loud enough to set off seismographs =
that monitor volcanic activity, a government science agency said=20
Thursday.
The meteor, seen from various locations throughout the country late=20
Wednesday, was probably a fragment or remnant of a comet, Terry Webb, a
seismologist at the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, said.
The meteor was likely to have entered the earth's atmosphere at a=20
relatively low trajectory and at about 72,000 km per hour (44,000 mph)=20
before exploding into multiple fragments.
Meteors typically break up at between 60 and 80 km (36 and 48 miles)=20
above the earth's surface and only rarely do any fragments reach the=20
ground, Webb said.
Copyright =A9 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
*****
[http://203.98.9.153/news/1999/07/08/00007168.htm]
Thursday, July 08, 1999=20
Meteor may have been a big one=20
An astronomer believes a meteor that blazed across the North Island=20
yesterday was probably about the size of a small boulder, but may have
been as big as a car.=20
Reports of the large bright object streaking across the sky came from=20
Auckland, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Wellington and Canterbury.=20
The only damage reported was a small scrub fire in Napier after some of =
the debris exploded in the atmosphere and sparks dropped into a bush=20
area.=20
An astronomer at the Carter Observatory in Wellington, Richard Hall,=20
says the meteor appears to have been a stoney-type and he estimates it=20
was about two feet in diameter.
David Skinner, a geologist who has studied meteorites in the Antarctic=20
says it is unlikely the meteor hit land, and it probably headed out to=20
sea.=20
On Tv One's Breakfast this morning, Ian Griffin from the Auckland=20
Observatory appealed for the public to help them discover more about =
the
meteor.
He asked for information about sightings to confirm the meteor's size=20
and location, and said that any fragments recovered could be quite=20
valuable.=20
ONE News | Copyright =A9 TVNZ: 1999. All rights reserved.
=================================================
(5) NASA TAPS DAVID THOLEN FOR MUSES-C ASTEROID MISSION
>From Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utorontodot ca>
University of Hawai'i
University Relations =20
Media & Publications =20
Honolulu, HI 96822 =20
Telephone: (808) 956-8856
Facsimile: (808) 956-3441=3D20
E-Mail: ur@hawaiidot edu
Contact:
David Tholen
808-956-6930, tholen@galileo.ifa.hawaiidot edu
Karen Rehbock, Institute for Astronomy
808-956-6829, rehbock@ifa.hawaiidot edu
DonnEB Florence, UH Media Relations
808-956-7522, donne@hawaiidot edu
Mary Beth Murrill, JPL Media Relations
818-354-6478, mary.b.murrill@jpl.nasadot gov
Beta SP video is available from JPL; high-res images at JPL website,
http://www.jpl.nasadot gov/pictures/solar/musspccrft.html
For Immediate Release: July 1, 1999
NASA taps UH astronomer David Tholen for asteroid mission
David Tholen, an astronomer at the University of Hawai'i Institute=20
for Astronomy, is one of a half-dozen U.S. scientists selected by the=20
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the world's=20
first expedition to place a robotic lander on an asteroid and return=20
pieces of the space rock to Earth for in-depth study. The U.S.=20
scientists selected will collaborate with Japanese colleagues on the=20
MUSES-C project, the world's first asteroid sample return mission.
"MUSES-C" stands for Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft, with the "C"=20
signifying it is the third in a series. The mission is a cooperative=20
venture of Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science=20
(ISAS) and NASA.
Asteroid Nereus, a one kilometer-diameter (about one-half mile)=20
object, is the preferred target of the mission. (An alternative=20
target is the asteroid 1989 ML.) "Nereus is one of Earth's closest=20
neighbors, easily accessible for a spacecraft rendezvous and an=20
object of key scientific interest," according to Donald K. Yeomans,=20
NASA's MUSES-C mission project scientist.
David Tholen is an internationally recognized authority on the=20
categorization of asteroids. He will use data from the spacecraft=20
camera to determine the asteroid's rotational state, to estimate the=20
age of the asteroid and its shape and size, as well as other=20
properties such as density.
Nereus is thought to be a relatively unaltered asteroid, having=20
changed little since Earth and the other planets of the inner solar=20
system formed some 4.6 billion years ago. Detailed studies of Nereus=20
and other asteroids are expected to provide scientists with crucial=20
information about Earth's initial chemical composition and the=20
conditions under which it and the other inner planets originally=20
formed.
The MUSES-C spacecraft, provided by the Japanese, will be launched on=20
a Japanese M-5 launch vehicle in January 2002 from Kagoshima Space=20
Center, Japan, toward a touchdown on the asteroid Nereus in April=20
2003. The Japanese spacecraft will deliver a NASA-provided miniature=20
robotic rover to the surface of Nereus to study the asteroid up=20
close. The MUSES-C spacecraft will gather samples of the asteroid and=20
depart for Earth, leaving the rover behind. The asteroid samples will=20
be returned to Earth in January 2006.
Nereus has a gravity field estimated to be about 100,000 times weaker=20
than Earth's. This presents an unusual challenge for engineers at=20
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, where=20
the miniaturized rover is being developed. The cigar box-size rover=20
is being designed to take advantage of the low gravity field and will=20
be able to hop tens of meters above the surface by drawing its wheel=20
struts together, then springing them outward. This would give the=20
cameras and other instruments onboard a bird's-eye view of the=20
asteroid terrain, and would allow the rover to cover much more ground=20
overall. The weak gravity would pull the rover back to land gently on=20
the surface. Solar panels on the rover's back and belly allow it an=20
uninterrupted flow of electricity, no matter which way it lands. Like=20
an agile cat, the rover is also equipped to right itself if=20
necessary.
The MUSES-C spacecraft will carry a camera, an infrared spectrometer=20
and a lidar instrument (a laser-based altimeter) that will be used by=20
Japanese scientists and their NASA colleagues to study the asteroid=20
from a distance of about 20 kilometers. An X-ray spectrometer will=20
also be onboard to study the asteroid's bulk chemical composition.=20
The NASA rover will carry a camera, an infrared spectrometer and an=20
alpha X-ray spectrometer for analyzing the composition of the=20
asteroid surface.
Up to three asteroid samples will be collected after small pellets=20
are fired into the asteroid's surface. Ejecta from the pellets'=20
impact will be collected through an inverted funnel and stored in a=20
sample-return capsule onboard the orbiter. The capsule will parachute=20
to Earth's surface when the orbiter re-approaches the planet in=20
January 2006.
In addition to David Tholen, the scientists selected for the=20
mission's U.S. team are:
Beth Clark of Cornell University, a UH alumna (PhD '93) who will use=20
the rover camera and infrared spectrometer to study the physical and=20
light- scattering properties of the surface of Nereus. This will aid=20
in differentiating between data that characterizes the asteroid's=20
chemical composition and data that shows optical effects of the=20
surface.
Faith Vilas of the NASA Johnson Space Center, who will use the=20
spacecraft infrared spectrometer to determine the nature of the=20
minerals on the surface of Nereus through the comparison of spectral=20
features with laboratory spectra of meteorites and terrestrial rocks.
Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, who will use the rover=20
camera to study the surface characteristics of Nereus to understand=20
how the surface and its structures evolved over time. Smith has=20
worked with the cameras on numerous NASA missions including the Mars=20
Pathfinder mission and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and=20
Titan.
Andrew Cheng of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics=20
Laboratory, who will use the spacecraft lidar (a laser-based=20
altimeter) instrument to determine the size, shape, mass and rotation=20
of Nereus. Cheng is the project scientist for NASA's Near-Earth=20
Asteroid Rendezvous mission, which will encounter the asteroid Eros=20
in February 2000.
Michael Zolensky of the NASA Johnson Space Center, who will=20
participate in the preliminary petrologic, mineralogic, and=20
compositional analysis of the asteroid samples returned to Earth by=20
the MUSES-C spacecraft. Zolensky is a leader in the development and=20
application of sample analysis techniques to extra-terrestrial=20
samples and is a co-investigator on NASA's Stardust mission to=20
collect a comet sample and return it to Earth.
The alpha X-ray spectrometer for the rover, which will be used to=20
determine the chemical composition of many surface rocks, is being=20
supplied by Thanasis Economou of the University of Chicago. Economou=20
supplied a similar instrument for the Sojourner rover on the Mars=20
Pathfinder mission and for many other NASA missions.
JPL is managing the U.S. contribution to the MUSES-C mission for=20
NASA's Office of Space Science. For the NASA portions of the MUSES-C=20
mission, Ross M. Jones of JPL is the NASA project manager, and Brian=20
Wilcox of JPL is the lead engineer for the asteroid roving vehicle.=20
The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) manages the=20
MUSES-C project for Japan's Ministry of Education, Science, Sports=20
and Culture, where Jun'ichiro Kawaguchi is the MUSES-C project=20
manager and Akira Fujiwara the project scientist.
=================================================
(6) NASA SELECTS MISSIONS TO MERCURY AND A COMET'S INTERIOR AS
NEXT DISCOVERY FLIGHTS
>From NASA NEWS <NASANews@hq.nasadot gov>
=20
Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC July 7, 1999
(Phone: 202/358-1753)
RELEASE: 99-77
NASA SELECTS MISSIONS TO MERCURY AND
A COMET'S INTERIOR AS NEXT DISCOVERY FLIGHTS
The first comprehensive mission to map pockmarked Mercury and a=20
radical mission to excavate the interior of a comet have been selected=20
as the next flights in NASA's Discovery Program.
The Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging=20
mission, or Messenger, will carry seven instruments into orbit around=20
the closest planet to the Sun. It will send back the first global=20
images of Mercury and study its shape, interior and magnetic field. =20
Dr. Sean Solomon of the Carnegie Institution, Washington, DC, will lead =
Messenger.=20
The Deep Impact mission will send a 1,100-pound (500-kilogram)=20
copper projectile into comet P/Tempel 1, creating a crater as big as a=20
football field and as deep as a seven-story building. A camera and=20
infrared spectrometer on the spacecraft, along with ground-based=20
observatories, will study the resulting icy debris and pristine=20
interior material. Dr. Michael A'Hearn will lead Deep Impact from the=20
University of Maryland in College Park.
"These low-cost missions are both fantastic examples of the=20
creativity of the space science community," said Dr. Edward Weiler,=20
associate administrator for space science at NASA Headquarters in=20
Washington, DC. "Messenger is a flagship-quality effort that, in=20
tandem with a separate Pluto mission, enables us to seize the=20
opportunity to complete our historic initial reconnaissance of the=20
Solar System. Deep Impact presents a special chance to do some truly=20
unique science, and it is a direct complement to the other two comet=20
missions already in the Discovery Program."
Messenger, to be launched in spring 2004, will be NASA's first=20
mission to Mercury since the Mariner 10 flybys in 1974 and 1975, which=20
provided information on only half the planet. Its challenging flight=20
plan begins with two Venus flybys, then two Mercury flybys in January=20
and October 2008 and a subsequent orbital tour of Mercury beginning in=20
September 2009.
Among Messenger's goals will be to discover whether Mercury has=20
water ice in its polar craters. The cost of Messenger to NASA is $286=20
million. It will be built and managed by the Johns Hopkins=20
University's Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD. Further=20
information about the mission is available on the Internet=20
at:
http://sd-www.jhuapldot edu/MESSENGER
Deep Impact will be launched in January 2004 toward an explosive=20
July 4, 2005, encounter with P/Tempel 1. It will use a copper=20
projectile because that material can be identified easily within the=20
spectral observations of the material blasted off the comet by the=20
impact, which will occur at an approximate speed of 22,300 mph (10=20
kilometers per second.) The total cost of Deep Impact to NASA is $240 =
million. Deep Impact will be managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion=20
Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, and built by Ball Aerospace in Boulder, CO.
NASA selected these missions from 26 proposals made in early 1998. =
The missions must be ready for launch no later than Sept. 30, 2004,=20
within the Discovery Program's development cost cap of $190 million in=20
Fiscal 1999 dollars over 36 months and a total mission cost of $299=20
million.
The Discovery Program emphasizes lower-cost, highly focused=20
scientific mission. NASA has developed six other Discovery Program=20
missions. Two have completed their primary missions, two are=20
operational and two more are under development:
-- The Lunar Prospector orbiter has mapped the Moon's composition=20
and gravity field for the past 18 months. It will complete its highly=20
successful mission on July 31, when it is sent on a controlled impact=20
into a crater near the south lunar pole. Scientists hope to observe a=20
resulting plume of water vapor that would help confirm the presence of=20
water ice in some of the Moon's permanently shadowed craters. In 1997,=20
the Mars Pathfinder lander, carrying a small robotic rover named=20
Sojourner, landed successfully on Mars and returned hundreds of images=20
and thousands of measurements of the Martian environment.
-- The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft is=20
scheduled to enter orbit around the asteroid Eros in February 2000,=20
after a problem with its initial attempt to do so early this year. The =
Stardust mission to gather samples of comet dust and return them to=20
Earth was launched in February 1999.=20
-- The Genesis mission to gather samples of the solar wind and=20
return them to Earth and the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) mission to=20
fly closely by three comets are being prepared for launch in January=20
2001 and June 2002, respectively.=20
=================================================
THE CAMBRIDGE-CONFERENCE NETWORK (CCNet)
----------------------------------------
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