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(meteorobs) Excerpts from "CCNet 5/2001 - 11 January 2001"




Both sad and happy news in this issue... What a success Schoemaker has been!
And congratulations to General Worden - he is an administrator who I believe
has done good service to the science of meteorics.

Clear skies!
Lew Gramer

------- Forwarded Message

From: Peiser Benny <B.J.Peiser@livjm.acdot uk>
To: cambridge-conference <cambridge-conference@livjm.acdot uk>
Subject: CCNet, 11 January 2001
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 12:34:28 -0000

CCNet 5/2001 - 11 January 2001
------------------------------

(1) NEAR SHOEMAKER PRIMED FOR FINAL WEEKS IN ORBIT
    Ron Baalke <baalke@jpl.nasadot gov>

(2) ASTEROID PROBE MAY BITE THE DUST
    The Guadian, 11 January 2001

(3) CALL FOR OBSERVATIONS: THE JANUARY COMA BERENICIDS
    Alastair McBeath <mcbal.gwyvre@virgindot net>

[...]

(5) NEO-EXPERT & CCNet MEMBER, GENERAL PETE WORDEN THE NEXT
    NASA ADMINISTRATOR? GOOD LUCK, PETE!
    NASA Watch, 8 January 2001

[...]

====================
(1) NEAR SHOEMAKER PRIMED FOR FINAL WEEKS IN ORBIT

>From Ron Baalke <baalke@jpl.nasadot gov>

http://www.jhuapldot edu/public/pr/010110.htm

10 January 2001

NEAR Shoemaker Primed for Final Weeks in Orbit

Low Flyovers Lead to Feb. 12 Controlled Descent

The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft - the first to orbit an asteroid - embarks on
a series of low-altitude passes over 433 Eros this month in a prelude to its
daring February descent to the surface of the rotating, 21-mile-long space
rock.

The orbit segment of NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission
wraps up Feb. 12 with NEAR Shoemaker's controlled descent to Eros, a tricky
maneuver that will allow the craft's digital camera to snap close-ups of the
asteroid's cratered, boulder-strewn landscape. But the weeks before the
historic event won't be much easier, as NEAR mission operators and
navigators take the spacecraft on several low passes over the ends of the
potato-shaped Eros from Jan. 24-28.

"NEAR Shoemaker is nearly out of fuel, and by the end of January it will
have completed its scientific objectives at Eros," says Dr. Robert W.
Farquhar, NEAR Mission Director at The Johns Hopkins University Applied
Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. "The maneuvers are kind of risky, but we
want to end the mission getting a lot of bonus science - with images better
than we've ever taken."

On Jan. 24, NEAR Shoemaker will dip from its current 22-mile (35-kilometer)
circular orbit to begin a four-day series of flyovers. The spacecraft will
complete five to six passes, each within about 3 to 4 miles (5 to 6
kilometers) of the surface. In the early hours of Jan. 28 the spacecraft
will zip between 1 to 2 miles (2 to 3 kilometers) over the surface - closer
than it has ever come before.

"The flyovers will give us a detailed look at the surface, much like we saw
when the spacecraft came within 3 miles of Eros during the first low flyover
in October," says NEAR Project Scientist Dr. Andrew F. Cheng, of the Applied
Physics Laboratory. "This time we're going over different areas, so we can
find out if the small-scale geological features we saw in the earlier images
are typical of the surface."

The spacecraft will swing out from that low pass back to a 22-mile orbit,
where it will stay until the controlled descent. Mission designers are
working out the final details of the descent, but they plan to slow the
craft's fall with several intermittent engine burns.

NEAR Shoemaker's telescopic camera will gather high-resolution images during
the last 3 miles of the maneuver, until about 1,650 feet (500 meters) above
the asteroid. Before touching down near Eros' distinctive "saddle"
depression, NEAR Shoemaker could deliver images showing features as small as
4 inches (10 centimeters) across.

"NEAR Shoemaker was never designed to land, so that's not the main goal of
the controlled descent," Farquhar says. "The definition of success here is
getting the close-up images. We're not optimizing this maneuver to ensure
the spacecraft survives this event."

The first launch in NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost planetary missions,
NEAR Shoemaker has been in orbit around Eros since Feb. 14, 2000, conducting
the first in-depth study of an asteroid. The Applied Physics Laboratory
designed and built the spacecraft and manages the NEAR mission for NASA. The
NEAR team also includes NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Cornell
University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Maryland;
University of Arizona; NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; Southwest
Research Institute; Northwestern University; Space Environment Center; Solar
Data Analysis Center; Malin Space Science Systems, Inc.; University of
California, Los Angeles; Catholic University; Max Planck Institute for
Chemistry; and Computer Sciences Corp.

For the latest news and images visit the NEAR Web site at (near.jhuapldot edu).
                             __________________
Media contact:

                       JHU Applied Physics Laboratory:
             Michael Buckley            Helen Worth
             Laurel, MD 20723           Laurel, MD 20723
             Phone: 240-228-7536        Phone: 240-228-5113
             E-mail:                    E-mail:
             michael.buckley@jhuapldot edu helen.worth@jhuapldot edu

===============
(2) ASTEROID PROBE MAY BITE THE DUST

>From The Guadian, 11 January 2001
http://www.guardianunlimited.codot uk/international/story/0,3604,420566,00.html

Tim Radford, science editor 

After a year of long distance courtship, a spacecraft and its target could
be about to come to a touching end. A near-Earth asteroid rendezvous probe
called Shoemaker could be about to land on the surface of a giant asteroid
called Eros - and then die. 

Eros is a peanut-shaped lump of rock the size of Manhattan, 21 miles long
and eight miles wide and eight miles thick, now tumbling through space 150m
miles away, beyond the orbit of Mars. 

The $224m (#150m) probe, named for the late Gene Shoemaker, who trained the
Apollo astronauts to recognise rocks on the moon, was launched in 1996 to
catch up with Eros and take a closer look. 

It kept its date in deep space on February 14 last year, and began a stately
waltz around its partner, taking ever closer looks at the pitted surface of
the lump of rock in orbit around the sun. 

Asteroids are thought to be the building blocks of a planet that should have
formed somewhere between Mars and Jupiter, but never came together. But a
number have become dislodged, and are now seen as potential cosmic traffic
accidents. 

Shoemaker was the first robot probe to take a long close look at a possible
future problem. While Eros tumbled head over heels every five hours,
Shoemaker has been swooping to within three miles of the surface to
photograph its pockmarked face. 

But the courtship could soon be over. Its mission controllers are
contemplating a "controlled descent" on to the surface on February 12. 

"We are out of time, out of money and out of fuel," said Robert Farquhar, of
Johns Hopkins University's applied physics laboratory in Baltimore, which
built the spacecraft. "This is the first time anyone has tried to land
anything on a small body. It would be a nice way to end it." 

The spacecraft weighs 1,775lb. It will be travelling three feet a second
when it hits Eros. "That's jogging speed, but if you hit a brick wall when
you're jogging, it hurts," he said. "It's risky, but we will get a lot of
bonus science." 

Duncan Steel, an asteroid expert at the University of Salford, suggested
that Eros could have a surface of fluffy dust. "If the satellite lands in
the right place, it might be more like falling on to a feather mattress than
a concrete floor," he said. 

"Very appropriately, the satellite got to Eros on Valentine's day. Now at
last we are going to kiss it properly." 

Copyright 2001, The Guardian
 
===============
(3) CALL FOR OBSERVATIONS: THE JANUARY COMA BERENICIDS

>From Alastair McBeath <mcbal.gwyvre@virgindot net>
     [as posted on the IMO mailing list]

Call for Observations, 2001 January 20-26: The January Coma Berenicids

By Roberto Gorelli and Alastair McBeath

We have recently identified a possible new minor shower, with a radiant
perhaps only periodically active between January 20-26 or so, in Coma
Berenices or a neighbouring constellation. This shower may be associated
with the poorly-observed Comet Lowe 1913 I, seen definitely and briefly
at only a single return, but which may also have been observed, again rather
badly, in 1750. The computed shower parameters suggest a radiant near alpha
= 188 degrees, delta = +22 degrees, producing its maximum activity around
January 24 (solar longitude = 304.2-305.0 degrees, eq.
J2000.0). The meteors would be swift-moving, with an atmospheric velocity of
59 km/s, similar to the Perseids of July-August. [...]

We have provisionally called this source the January Coma Berenicids to
differentiate it from the "other" Coma Berenicids active from about December
12-January 23, peaking towards December 20, as we suspect the two are
actually separate showers, though this is uncertain as yet. Some visual and
radio January Coma Berenicid activity seems present in the reports we have
checked, but not necessarily in every year. A radio peak coinciding in time
with several visual fireballs (the source of these is unknown however)
occurred on 1998 January 24-25, for instance, while two Slovenian observers
reported a small visual outburst perhaps from near Corona Borealis on 1999
January 21-22. A further possible outburst may have occurred on 2000 January
20-21, noted by a single UK witness (this possible radiant may have been
north-west of Ursa Major though, not south-east of it). The 1999 and 2000
events may both have been weakly present in the radio results too.

As new Moon falls on January 24, conditions are perfect for checking in
2001, and we would urge all observers who can to watch for whatever happens.
Although January 23-24 and 24-25 are probably the most important dates to
cover, other dates between January 20-26 should not be ignored if the sky is
clear. Standard IMO visual plotting watches should be carried out as normal
at this time of year, and any possible January Coma Berenicids identified as
such after the observation, assuming an unusual level of activity is not
apparent in the field. Ideally, video or photographic techniques should be
employed too, since we need to establish the presence of any radiant(s) and
the orbital parameters for any meteors connected to this source. From
northern hemisphere sites, the proposed radiant is well on-view from about
22h30m-23h local time, culminating shortly before dawn. Circumstances are
less favourable well south of the equator, where the radiant can be clearly
observed only after 01h30m-02h local time. All data, even negative results
(that is, where observations were made with clear skies, but no possible
January Coma Berenicids were seen), would be useful, remembering we know
almost nothing about this possible shower.

We would also like anyone with data on meteor activity from this part of
January from before Comet Lowe's discovery onwards to let us know if any
possible radiant is indicated around the Coma to Corona region, especially
where any orbital characteristics for the meteors could be
established. In addition we would urge anyone with access to the appropriate
information to check for prediscovery images of Comet Lowe taken in the
Virgo region in December 1912.

All reports should be submitted to the appropriate IMO Commissions as
normal, but the present authors would be pleased to receive copies of any
data from the January 20-26 period separately too, for rapid analysis. This
applies both to 2001 results and any from previous years.

Further information on the possible January Coma Berenicids can be found in
our article in the December 2000 issue of the IMO's journal "WGN". Further
to our acknowledgements there, we are grateful to David Asher and Mark
Bailey of Armagh Observatory for forwarding the 2000 January 20-21 report to
us, noted above. This, with the Slovenian observations, decided us to extend
the investigated period beyond the dates originally suggested in our "WGN"
article.

Good luck, and clear skies!

E-mail addresses:
Roberto Gorelli: <md6648@mclinkdot it>
Alastair McBeath: <vice_president@imodot net>

=============

(5) NEO-EXPERT & CCNet MEMBER, GENERAL PETE WORDEN THE NEXT NASA
ADMINISTRATOR? GOOD LUCK, PETE!

>From NASA Watch, 8 January 2001
http://www.nasawatch.com/

NEW NAMES SURFACE AS POSSIBLE NASA ADMINISTRATOR

In the wake of Monday's false alarm/cancelled announcements from the Bush
Transition Team (it depends on who you talk to) more names are starting to
surface as possible candidates/choices for NASA Administrator. In addition
to former Senator Harrison Schmitt (R-NM) whose name has been in the news as
a possible choice for NASA Administrator since mid-December the names of
former Senator Jake Garn (R-UT), Brigadier General S. Pete Worden, and Rep.
Ralph Hall (D-TX) are now "in play". Sources tell NASA Watch that Garn, who
flew as a Payload Specialist on Shuttle mission STS-51D, has been contacted
by the Bush Transition Team. Worden is Deputy Director for Command and
Control for the United States Air Force at the Pentagon. Rep. Ralph Hall is
the ranking minority member on the House Science Committee and is a long
time friend of the Bush family. He was apparently offered the position of
Energy Secretary but turned down the offer.

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