Breaking News-- The Moon MAY have an Asteroid Orbiting it! - Preliminary Data Suggests Possible!

Breaking News- The Moon MAY have an Asteroid Orbiting iit!
UPDATES WILL BE POSTED ASAP! Check back.
Esko Lyytinen writes-
Looking at some of the links and some further googling, I  get the impression that XG02E65 and S509356 are two different objects, the former passing the Moon Earth system relatively close by and the second in an elliptic orbit around the Earth actually (not around Moon).
---
Latest update for another expert!
It's an ordinary Near Earth Asteroid,
Period is 1.96 years, which means it's orbit around the sun take 1.96
earth years, or 715.4 days. It is not in orbit around the moon.
Richard A. Kowalski
Senior Research Specialist
Catalina Sky Survey
Lunar & Planetary Laboratory
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
---

XG02E65 as possible asteroid in moon orbit!

- Preliminary Data Suggests Possible!  IF this is proven this will be the first of such ever observed!
{MPML} XG02E65 = possible radar target, needs astrometry!

Based on magnitude the object is 16-20 meters!

Spectral data indicates that this is NOT man-made object and is a rock, and a possible S-type asteroid.

Photometry-

DogsHeaven Observatory (X87), Brasília, Brazil » Blog Archive » S509356

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Dogs Heaven Observatory, Brasillia, Brasil

----
-- Bill Gray writes-
Just a note that I've received more astrometry for this object.
In particular, I just got PanSTARRS data via Peter Veres that
extended the arc back a month, to early February. Put that together
with new data from (Y28) OASI and (474) Mount John, and we get...

http://www.projectpluto.com/pluto/mpecs/s509356.htm

...which gives an area/mass ratio of 0.00759 +/- 0.00040. On
top of that, there are some strange trends in the data that look as
if there are some more complicated forces going on here. (Which tends
to happen when we've tracked an artsat for a couple of months. The
simple model I use, that "sunlight is pushing this object away from
the sun", becomes a little _too_ simple.)

But in any case, that AMR tells me we'll have to drop any hopes
of a "mini-moon".

I've not been very positively inclined to the idea that there might
be a "mini-moon" out there in the first place. (My major objection is
that I don't see how you'd get into this sort of orbit, nor stay in
it stably for really long time spans. Then again, Phobos got into
an orbit like this, so I may be overlooking something.)

But if this fairly bright artsat has been orbiting the earth
undetected for decades, it suggests to me that _if_ there are mini-moons
out there, we could have overlooked them, too. Even boulders a few
meters across. I do find that to be an interesting thought.

-- Bill Gray
Pseudo-MPEC for S509356
projectpluto.com

-----

Ephemerides (geocentric):
Date (UTC) HH   RA              Dec         delta   r     elong  mag " sig PA
---- -- -- --  ------------   ------------  ------ ------ -----  --- ---- ---
2016 04 13 23  07 30 07.573   +37 20 04.60   67037 1.0030  84.4 14.5  0.9 134
2016 04 14 00  07 56 36.662   +33 36 28.17   72692 1.0030  90.3 14.4  0.9 137
2016 04 14 01  08 17 29.183   +30 09 09.68   78180 1.0031  95.4 14.4  0.9 140
2016 04 14 02  08 34 28.473   +26 59 09.29   83475 1.0031  99.7 14.3  0.9 141
2016 04 14 03  08 48 40.722   +24 05 22.88   88564 1.0032 103.6 14.3  0.9 142
2016 04 14 04  09 00 49.604   +21 26 08.19   93441 1.0032 107.0 14.3  0.9 143
2016 04 14 05  09 11 24.872   +18 59 38.66   98108 1.0033 110.1 14.4  0.9 144
2016 04 14 06  09 20 47.420   +16 44 15.97  102568 1.0034 112.9 14.4  0.9 144
2016 04 14 07  09 29 12.338   +14 38 33.63  106825 1.0034 115.4 14.4  0.9 144
2016 04 14 08  09 36 50.794   +12 41 17.18  110884 1.0035 117.7 14.4  0.9 144
2016 04 14 09  09 43 51.240   +10 51 23.04  114751 1.0035 119.9 14.4  0.9 144
2016 04 14 10  09 50 20.199   +09 07 57.06  118431 1.0035 121.9 14.4  0.8 144
2016 04 14 11  09 56 22.797   +07 30 13.04  121931 1.0036 123.8 14.4  0.8 144
2016 04 14 12  10 02 03.123   +05 57 31.47  125254 1.0036 125.5 14.4  0.8 144
2016 04 14 13  10 07 24.489   +04 29 18.38  128406 1.0037 127.2 14.4  0.8 144
2016 04 14 14  10 12 29.613   +03 05 04.48  131391 1.0037 128.7 14.4  0.8 144
2016 04 14 15  10 17 20.753   +01 44 24.32  134215 1.0038 130.2 14.4  0.8 143
2016 04 14 16  10 21 59.806   +00 26 55.72  136880 1.0038 131.6 14.4  0.8 143
2016 04 14 17  10 26 28.381   -00 47 40.75  139390 1.0038 132.9 14.4  0.8 143
2016 04 14 18  10 30 47.861   -01 59 42.24  141749 1.0039 134.2 14.4  0.8 142
2016 04 14 19  10 34 59.443   -03 09 23.90  143960 1.0039 135.4 14.4  0.8 142
2016 04 14 20  10 39 04.174   -04 16 59.25  146026 1.0040 136.6 14.4  0.8 142
2016 04 14 21  10 43 02.978   -05 22 40.36  147950 1.0040 137.7 14.4  0.8 141
2016 04 14 22  10 46 56.679   -06 26 38.09  149733 1.0040 138.7 14.4  0.8 141
2016 04 14 23  10 50 46.020   -07 29 02.23  151378 1.0041 139.8 14.4  0.8 140
2016 04 15 00  10 54 31.672   -08 30 01.67  152888 1.0041 140.7 14.4  0.8 140
2016 04 15 01  10 58 14.252   -09 29 44.52  154263 1.0041 141.7 14.4  0.8 139
2016 04 15 02  11 01 54.333   -10 28 18.21  155505 1.0041 142.6 14.4  0.8 139
2016 04 15 03  11 05 32.447   -11 25 49.57  156617 1.0042 143.5 14.4  0.7 139
2016 04 15 04  11 09 09.099   -12 22 24.91  157598 1.0042 144.4 14.4  0.7 138
2016 04 15 05  11 12 44.769   -13 18 10.11  158450 1.0042 145.2 14.4  0.7 137
2016 04 15 06  11 16 19.921   -14 13 10.63  159175 1.0042 146.0 14.4  0.7 137
2016 04 15 07  11 19 55.005   -15 07 31.63  159773 1.0043 146.7 14.4  0.7 136
2016 04 15 08  11 23 30.466   -16 01 17.94  160244 1.0043 147.5 14.3  0.7 136
2016 04 15 09  11 27 06.744   -16 54 34.15  160589 1.0043 148.2 14.3  0.7 135
2016 04 15 10  11 30 44.282   -17 47 24.64  160809 1.0043 148.9 14.3  0.7 135
2016 04 15 11  11 34 23.528   -18 39 53.56  160903 1.0043 149.5 14.3  0.7 134
2016 04 15 12  11 38 04.943   -19 32 04.95  160873 1.0044 150.1 14.3  0.7 133
2016 04 15 13  11 41 49.000   -20 24 02.67  160717 1.0044 150.7 14.3  0.7 133
2016 04 15 14  11 45 36.194   -21 15 50.48  160435 1.0044 151.3 14.2  0.7 132
2016 04 15 15  11 49 27.044   -22 07 32.06  160028 1.0044 151.8 14.2  0.7 131
2016 04 15 16  11 53 22.103   -22 59 10.97  159494 1.0044 152.3 14.2  0.7 131
2016 04 15 17  11 57 21.959   -23 50 50.75  158834 1.0044 152.7 14.2  0.7 130
2016 04 15 18  12 01 27.243   -24 42 34.86  158046 1.0044 153.1 14.1  0.7 129
2016 04 15 19  12 05 38.642   -25 34 26.72  157129 1.0044 153.5 14.1  0.7 128
2016 04 15 20  12 09 56.903   -26 26 29.72  156083 1.0045 153.8 14.1  0.7 128
2016 04 15 21  12 14 22.847   -27 18 47.21  154906 1.0045 154.0 14.1  0.7 127
2016 04 15 22  12 18 57.379   -28 11 22.50  153597 1.0045 154.3 14.0  0.7 126
2016 04 15 23  12 23 41.504   -29 04 18.86  152155 1.0045 154.4 14.0  0.7 125
2016 04 16 00  12 28 36.347   -29 57 39.51  150577 1.0045 154.5 14.0  0.7 124
2016 04 16 01  12 33 43.170   -30 51 27.56  148862 1.0045 154.5 14.0  0.7 123
2016 04 16 02  12 39 03.399   -31 45 46.00  147007 1.0045 154.5 13.9  0.7 122
2016 04 16 03  12 44 38.654   -32 40 37.63  145010 1.0045 154.4 13.9  0.7 120
2016 04 16 04  12 50 30.787   -33 36 04.97  142869 1.0045 154.2 13.9  0.7 119
2016 04 16 05  12 56 41.924   -34 32 10.15  140581 1.0045 153.9 13.9  0.6 118
2016 04 16 06  13 03 14.523   -35 28 54.70  138143 1.0045 153.5 13.8  0.6 116
2016 04 16 07  13 10 11.440   -36 26 19.38  135551 1.0045 153.0 13.8  0.6 115
2016 04 16 08  13 17 36.012   -37 24 23.77  132802 1.0044 152.4 13.8  0.6 113
2016 04 16 09  13 25 32.159   -38 23 05.84  129893 1.0044 151.7 13.8  0.6 112
2016 04 16 10  13 34 04.517   -39 22 21.26  126817 1.0044 150.9 13.7  0.6 110
2016 04 16 11  13 43 18.591   -40 22 02.47  123573 1.0044 149.9 13.7  0.6 108
2016 04 16 12  13 53 20.956   -41 21 57.34  120153 1.0044 148.8 13.7  0.6 106
2016 04 16 13  14 04 19.496   -42 21 47.24  116554 1.0044 147.5 13.6  0.6 103
2016 04 16 14  14 16 23.693   -43 21 04.27  112769 1.0044 146.0 13.6  0.6 101
2016 04 16 15  14 29 44.971   -44 19 07.25  108794 1.0043 144.3 13.6  0.6  98
2016 04 16 16  14 44 37.066   -45 14 55.88  104622 1.0043 142.4 13.6  0.6  94
2016 04 16 17  15 01 16.404   -46 07 02.18  100248 1.0043 140.3 13.5  0.6  91
2016 04 16 18  15 20 02.370   -46 53 18.04   95667 1.0042 137.8 13.5  0.6  87
2016 04 16 19  15 41 17.286   -47 30 37.04   90875 1.0042 135.0 13.5  0.6  83
2016 04 16 20  16 05 25.768   -47 54 28.52   85869 1.0042 131.7 13.4  0.6  78
2016 04 16 21  16 32 52.922   -47 58 21.16   80650 1.0041 128.0 13.4  0.6  72
2016 04 16 22  17 04 00.788   -47 32 54.14   75228 1.0041 123.6 13.4  0.7  66
2016 04 16 23  17 39 02.800   -46 24 55.39   69620 1.0040 118.4 13.4  0.7  60
2016 04 17 00  18 17 57.373   -44 16 09.91   63864 1.0040 112.1 13.4  0.7  54
2016 04 17 01  19 00 24.316   -40 42 06.81   58033 1.0039 104.5 13.4  0.7  47
2016 04 17 02  19 45 50.075   -35 11 08.19   52257 1.0039  95.1 13.5  0.8  42
2016 04 17 03  20 33 46.678   -27 05 24.08   46768 1.0038  83.4 13.8  0.9  39
2016 04 17 04  21 24 24.083   -15 48 29.73   41955 1.0038  68.9 14.3  1.1  37
2016 04 17 05  22 19 11.143   -01 11 37.82   38402 1.0037  51.7 15??  1.4  39
2016 04 17 06  23 21 35.485   +15 33 49.55   36780 1.0037  34.5 17??  1.6  44
2016 04 17 07  00 36 50.047   +31 23 36.55   37493 1.0037  25.7 19??  1.8  54
2016 04 17 08  02 07 35.888   +42 38 27.85   40355 1.0037  32.5 17??  1.8  70
2016 04 17 09  03 44 32.361   +47 34 49.55   44748 1.0037  45.0 16??  1.7  88
2016 04 17 10  05 09 13.462   +47 25 18.34   50026 1.0038  56.8 15??  1.6 105
2016 04 17 11  06 13 08.943   +44 35 07.52   55724 1.0038  66.7 15.0  1.5 117
2016 04 17 12  06 59 22.233   +40 48 05.65   61555 1.0039  74.9 14.8  1.4 126
2016 04 17 13  07 33 21.311   +36 53 26.00   67352 1.0039  81.7 14.6  1.3 131
2016 04 17 14  07 59 14.379   +33 10 00.85   73025 1.0040  87.5 14.5  1.3 135
2016 04 17 15  08 19 40.872   +29 43 34.66   78525 1.0040  92.5 14.5  1.2 138
2016 04 17 16  08 36 20.889   +26 34 42.70   83827 1.0041  96.8 14.5  1.2 140
2016 04 17 17  08 50 18.492   +23 42 09.15   88918 1.0041 100.6 14.5  1.1 141
2016 04 17 18  09 02 15.972   +21 04 06.30   93797 1.0042 103.9 14.5  1.1 142
2016 04 17 19  09 12 42.173   +18 38 45.19   98462 1.0042 107.0 14.5  1.1 143
2016 04 17 20  09 21 57.380   +16 24 26.55  102919 1.0043 109.7 14.5  1.0 143
2016 04 17 21  09 30 16.262   +14 19 43.69  107172 1.0044 112.2 14.5  1.0 143
2016 04 17 22  09 37 49.690   +12 23 22.28  111227 1.0044 114.6 14.5  1.0 144
2016 04 17 23  09 44 45.901   +10 34 19.04  115089 1.0044 116.7 14.5  1.0 144
2016 04 18 00  09 51 11.261   +08 51 40.16  118764 1.0045 118.7 14.5  1.0 144
2016 04 18 01  09 57 10.775   +07 14 39.82  122257 1.0045 120.5 14.5  0.9 144
2016 04 18 02  10 02 48.444   +05 42 38.86  125575 1.0046 122.3 14.5  0.9 143

MORE! IMPORTANT DATA- FOR ASTRONOMERS-
http://www.projectpluto.com/pluto/mpecs/s509356.htm#eph

-- Bill Gray
Pseudo-MPEC for S509356
projectpluto.com

-----

S509356 -- www.minorplanetcenter.net


Date       UT      R.A. (J2000) Decl.  Elong.  V        Motion      Distance
            h m                                      "/min   P.A.       km
2016 04 16 2000   16 05 25.3 -47 54 28 131.7  14.1   259.1  093.4      85881
2016 04 16 2100   16 32 52.0 -47 58 21 128.0  14.1   293.7  088.3      80663
2016 04 16 2200   17 03 59.4 -47 32 56 123.6  14.1   337.5  082.5      75241
2016 04 16 2300   17 39 00.8 -46 25 00 118.4  14.0   394.1  076.1      69633
2016 04 17 0000   18 17 54.8 -44 16 20 112.1  14.0   468.3  069.1      63878
2016 04 17 0100   19 00 21.2 -40 42 26 104.5  14.1   567.2  062.0      58046
2016 04 17 0200   19 45 46.4 -35 11 40  95.1  14.2   699.5  055.0      52270
2016 04 17 0300   20 33 42.5 -27 06 13  83.4  14.4   873.3  048.7      46779
2016 04 17 0400   21 24 19.4 -15 49 38  68.9  15.0    1085  044.1      41964
2016 04 17 0500   22 19 05.8 -01 13 04  51.7  16.1    1295  042.0      38408
2016 04 17 0600   23 21 29.1 +15 32 18  34.5  18.1    1412  044.0      36782
2016 04 17 0700   00 36 42.1 +31 22 22  25.7  19.8    1359  051.6      37490
2016 04 17 0800   02 07 26.8 +42 37 49  32.5  18.6    1173  065.4      40348
2016 04 17 0900   03 44 23.9 +47 34 45  45.0  17.1   954.4  082.7      44738
2016 04 17 1000   05 09 07.1 +47 25 35  56.8  16.2   763.9  098.4      50015
2016 04 17 1100   06 13 04.7 +44 35 32  66.7  15.7   615.8  110.0      55712
2016 04 17 1200   06 59 19.5 +40 48 31  74.9  15.5   504.6  117.8      61541
2016 04 17 1300   07 33 19.5 +36 53 49  81.7  15.3   421.5  123.2      67338
2016 04 17 1400   07 59 13.2 +33 10 21  87.5  15.2   358.5  126.9      73011
2016 04 17 1500   08 19 40.2 +29 43 51  92.5  15.2   310.1  129.6      78511
2016 04 17 1600   08 36 20.5 +26 34 57  96.8  15.2   272.1  131.6      83812
2016 04 17 1700   08 50 18.3 +23 42 21 100.6  15.2   241.8  133.0      88903
2016 04 17 1800   09 02 16.0 +21 04 16 103.9  15.2   217.3  134.2      93782
2016 04 17 1900   09 12 42.3 +18 38 52 107.0  15.2   197.2  135.1      98447
2016 04 17 2000   09 21 57.6 +16 24 32 109.7  15.2   180.5  135.8     102905
2016 04 17 2100   09 30 16.6 +14 19 48 112.2  15.2   166.5  136.3     107158
2016 04 17 2200   09 37 50.1 +12 23 25 114.6  15.2   154.6  136.7     111212
2016 04 17 2300   09 44 46.4 +10 34 21 116.7  15.2   144.4  137.1     115074
2016 04 18 0000   09 51 11.8 +08 51 41 118.7  15.2   135.6  137.4     118749
2016 04 18 0100   09 57 11.3 +07 14 39 120.5  15.2   127.9  137.6     122243
2016 04 18 0200   10 02 49.0 +05 42 38 122.3  15.2   121.3  137.7     125561
2016 04 18 0300   10 08 08.1 +04 15 02 123.9  15.2   115.4  137.8     128707
2016 04 18 0400   10 13 11.3 +02 51 22 125.5  15.2   110.3  137.9     131687
2016 04 18 0500   10 18 00.7 +01 31 15 127.0  15.2   105.7  138.0     134505
2016 04 18 0600   10 22 38.3 +00 14 17 128.4  15.2   101.6  138.0     137165
2016 04 18 0700   10 27 05.5 -00 59 50 129.7  15.2   98.02  138.0     139671
2016 04 18 0800   10 31 23.8 -02 11 24 131.0  15.2   94.80  137.9     142026
2016 04 18 0900   10 35 34.4 -03 20 39 132.2  15.2   91.92  137.9     144233
2016 04 18 1000   10 39 38.3 -04 27 49 133.4  15.2   89.35  137.8     146296
2016 04 18 1100   10 43 36.3 -05 33 06 134.5  15.2   87.05  137.7     148217
2016 04 18 1200   10 47 29.3 -06 36 40 135.6  15.2   85.00  137.6     149998
2016 04 18 1300   10 51 18.1 -07 38 41 136.6  15.2   83.16  137.5     151641
2016 04 18 1400   10 55 03.2 -08 39 18 137.7  15.2   81.53  137.3     153150
2016 04 18 1500   10 58 45.4 -09 38 38 138.6  15.2   80.09  137.2     154524
2016 04 18 1600   11 02 25.1 -10 36 50 139.6  15.2   78.82  137.0     155767
2016 04 18 1700   11 06 02.9 -11 34 00 140.5  15.2   77.70  136.8     156880
2016 04 18 1800   11 09 39.2 -12 30 14 141.4  15.2   76.73  136.6     157863
2016 04 18 1900   11 13 14.7 -13 25 37 142.3  15.2   75.91  136.4     158718


www.minorplanetcenter.net

----
Other Object-
SONEAR asteroid survey discovered an object in geocentered orbit yesterday,
with PANNSTARS later providing precovery imagery from a week earlier.

The object is called S509356 and is in a weird distant orbit with apogee at half
a lunar distance, perigee near geosynchronous altitude. Inclination 48 degrees,
period 3.58 days.
- Op 9-4-2016 om 12:10 schreef Marco Langbroek via Seesat-l:

016 The THIRD Year of "CERTAIN Uncertainty" ™ / Meteors, Asteroids, Comets, and MORE!!

Meteor Outburst ALERT! Bolides, Fireballs and Meteors Sudden Increase - April 2015 Videos

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Full Lunar Eclipse 04APR2015
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SuperMoons 2014 Photographs

SuperMoon 2014 Photographs

"click on image to enlarge"
SuperMoon from Poland
Photo by Paweł  Zaręba
www.meteoryty.eu
c2014 All Rights Reserved

"click on image to enlarge"
SuperMoon from Brasil 08AUG2014
photo by  Renato Cássio Poltronieri  / www.astrocan.com.br
w/ Canon SX30IS
c2014 All Rights Reserved

"click on image to enlarge"
SuperMoon from Brasilia, Brasil 23JUN2014
photo by Carlos Augusto Di Pietro
c2014 All Rights Reserved

"click on image to enlarge"
Luar em Nhandeara Brasil 12JUL2014
photo by  Renato Cássio Poltronieri  / Luar em Nhandeara
w/ Canon SX30IS
c2014 All Rights Reserved

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You Can Help Map the Moon by Counting Craters

You Can Help Map the Moon by Counting Craters

CU-Boulder-led study on lunar crater counting shows crowdsourcing effective, accurate tool.
CU Boulder, university of  Boulder, Colorado.
http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2014/03/13/cu-boulder-led-study-lunar-crater-counting-shows-crowdsourcing-effective

Counting Craters: YOU Can Help Map the Moon by Nicole Gugliucci, Discovery.com News,
http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/counting-craters-you-can-help-map-the-moon-140314.htm

CosmoQuest’s “MoonMappers” Shows Everyday People Can Map the Moon, Cosmoquest X Blog,
http://cosmoquest.org/x/press-releases/press-release-cosmoquests-moonmappers-shows-everyday-people-can-map-the-moon/

Robbins, S. J., M. R. Kirchoff, C. R. Chapman, C. I. Fassett, R. R. Herrick, K. Singer, M.
Zanetti, C. Lehan, D. Huang, P. L. Gay, 2014,  The variability of crater identification among
expert and community crater analysts. Icarus Available online 4 March 2014
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103514001080

Yours,
Paul H.

For ALL of the E-Pistles of Paul H-
http://theepistlesofpaul.blogspot.com/

2014 The Year of "CERTAIN Uncertainty" ™; Meteors, Asteroids, Comets, and MORE!!

Tokyo Japan Bright RED Moon at Moon Set 23FEB2013

Tokyo Japan Bright RED Moon at Moon Set 23FEB2013

26FEB2013 Red Moonset, Tokyo, JAPAN
(c) 2913 -LunarMeteorite*Hunter

Sorry I didn`t have my camera in time. Anyone else in Tokyo happen to see or photograph the bright red Moon set at about 4:00 am JST, 23FEB2013?
-LunarMeteorite*Hunter. Tokyo, JAPAN

Leave a comment if you happened to see it; it was spectacular!

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Rare Fireball Meteor caught on Camera by Ladd Observatory in Rhode ...
1/27/12 *** Bus-Size Asteroid to Give Earth Close Shave Today: http://news.yahoo.com/bus-size-asteroid-earth-close-shave-friday-214406689.html just a hea...
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The Wonder Of Meteorites- video

The Wonder Of Meteorites

posted on YouTube by meteoritesaustralia (196 views) — 2010年04月24日
The Wonder Of Meteorites

Jókai Mór - Hungarian Astronomer "The Canes Spiral Codec"

Dr. Bartha Lajos giving talk for the exhibition of the International Year of Astronomy 2000 years of astronomical books in honor of Kalocsa Ptolemaiosztól Fényi Gyula. Selection of the Private library ritkaságaiból astronomy history.

Jókai Mór- "Cometary" Hungarian [excerpt]
by Dr. Lajos Bartha

Jókai csillagászata The Jókai astronomical

175 éve született a XIX. 175 years ago was born in the nineteenth century. század nagy prózaírója high-century prose
Ponticulus Hungaricus · VIII. évfolyam 7—8. grade 7-8. szám · 2004. No · 2004th július—augusztus July-August

copyright © Bartha Lajos, 2004

kulcsszavak fizika, csillagászat, Nap, Hold, üstökös, csillagtérkép, csillagkép stb.
Keywords physics, astronomy, sun, moon, comet, planetarium, constellations, etc..

Jókai Mór

1. 1. A "CSILLAGNÉZŐ JÓKAI" The CSILLAGNÉZŐ JÓKAIHO "

A magyarországi csillagászat "újjáteremtője", Konkoly Thege Miklós 1904-ben egy érdekes cikket közölt a csillagászati ismeretek tudományos és kulturális jelentőségéről. The Hungarian astronomy "újjáteremtője" Miklos Konkoly Thege in 1904, an interesting article published in the astronomical knowledge of the scientific and cultural significance. Írásának végén felsorolja az akkori Magyarország (részben már múzeummá avult) obszervatóriumait, majd hozzáfűzi a listához: Listed at the end of the time of writing Hungary (now part of a museum obsolete) observatories, and adds to the list:

"Ezeken kívül még több magánembernek van nagyobb távcsöve, úgymint: Latinovits Frigyesnek Visegrádon, Polikeit Károly igazgatónak Pozsonyban, Jókai Mór hazánk nagy költőjének, s még többeknek". "In addition, more private person is bigger telescope ...

English translation of whole article:

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmembers.iif.hu%2Fvisontay%2Fponticulus%2Frovatok%2Fmesterkurzus%2Fbartha-jokai.html&sl=hu&tl=en

1. A "CSILLAGNÉZŐ JÓKAI"

A magyarországi csillagászat "újjáteremtője", Konkoly Thege Miklós 1904-ben egy érdekes cikket közölt a csillagászati ismeretek tudományos és kulturális jelentőségéről. Írásának végén felsorolja az akkori Magyarország (részben már múzeummá avult) obszervatóriumait, majd hozzáfűzi a listához:

"Ezeken kívül még több magánembernek van nagyobb távcsöve, úgymint: Latinovits Frigyesnek Visegrádon, Polikeit Károly igazgatónak Pozsonyban, Jókai Mór hazánk nagy költőjének, s még többeknek".

(Atmosphaera — Az időjárás, 8. évf. 1. sz. 15. o. 1904) ... (more)

Whole original Hungarian text:

http://members.iif.hu/visontay/ponticulus/rovatok/mesterkurzus/bartha-jokai.html

Magyar Csillagászati Egyesület- Hungarian Astronomical Society

http://www.mcse.hu/mcse/about_us.html

http://www.mcse.hu/

Meteor csillagászati évkönyv 2010

Elkészült a Meteor csillagászati évkönyv 2010. évi kötete, sok-sok előrejelzéssel és tartalmas cikkekkel, melyek a csillagászat egy-egy részterületének eredményeit mutatják be.

Meteor (astronomy journal in Hungarian)

http://meteor.mcse.hu/megrendeles.html

Meteor/Meteorite News 3JUL09

How Earth Got its Oxygen

LiveScience.com - Michael Schirber -

... and comparing it to other carbonaceous-mineral associations known to be of non-biological origin, including minerals found in a Martian meteorite. ...

SPACE.com -- Uranium Found on the Moon

Uranium exists on the moon, according to new data from a Japanese spacecraft. ... moon, or even that Earth's satellite could serve as a mining source for uranium ...

Clues to origin of life revealed in Tagish Lake meteorite

CBC.ca - ‎

New research into a meteorite that crashed into northern British Columbia nine years ago is revealing startling clues that could help unravel the origins of ...

Man on the Moon: 40 years of myth and legend

Scene - ‎

We now know that the Moon is made of rocky material that has been variously melted, erupted through volcanoes, and crushed by meteorite impacts. ...

Comets Probably Seeded Earth's Nitrogen Atmosphere

Slashdot - ‎

One favored theory is that our water is the leftovers from a bombardment of comets early in Earth's history. But the ratio of hydrogen and deuterium in the ...

Study: Tunguska explosion caused by comet

Times of the Internet - ‎

But Cornell University researchers say findings from their study indicated the explosion was nearly certainly caused by a comet entering the Earth's ...

Time to Solidify an Ocean of Magma -Lunar Study 29MAR09

Time to Solidify an Ocean of Magma
25MAR09
--- A small mineral grain places limits on how long it took the lunar magma ocean to solidify.

Written by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
Cosmochemists are reasonably sure that a global ocean of magma surrounded the Moon when it formed. This was a monumentally important event in lunar history, forming the primary feldspar-rich crust of the lunar highlands and setting the stage for subsequent melting inside the Moon to make additional crustal rocks. Numerous questions remain about the complex array of processes that could have operated in such a huge amount of magma, and about how long it took to solidify the magma ocean. Alex Nemchin and colleagues at Curtin University of Technology (Australia), Westfäilische Wilhelms-Universität (Münster, Germany), and the Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas, USA) dated a half-millimeter grain of the mineral zircon (ZrSiO4) in an impact melt breccia from the Apollo 17 landing site. They used an ion microprobe to measure the concentrations of lead and uranium isotopes in the crystal, finding that one portion of the grain recorded an age of 4.417 ± 0.006 billion years. Because zircon does not crystallize until more than 95% of the magma ocean has crystallized, this age effectively marks the end of magma ocean crystallization. Magma ocean cooling and crystallization began soon after the Moon-forming giant impact. Other isotopic studies show that this monumental event occurred 4.517 billion years ago. Thus, the difference between the two ages means that the magma ocean took 100 million years to solidify.

Reference:

Nemchin, A., Timms, N., Pidgeon, R., Geisler, T., Reddy, S., and Meyer, C. (2009) Timing of Crystallization of the Lunar Magma Ocean Constrained by the Oldest Zircon. Nature Geoscience, 25 January 2009: doi: 10.1038/NGEO417.

MORE with photos: http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Mar09/magmaOceanSolidification.html

Traditional Star Lore of Africa 4JAN09

Traditional star lore of Africa
The sky and the stars
http://www.psychohistorian.org/display_article.php?id=200901111733_african_star_lore.content#20110205083546440
compiled and written by Auke Slotegraaf
A wide-spread African concept is that the sky is a solid dome, perhaps made of blue rock, resting on the Earth, upon which the Sun moves. The traditional Tswana idea is that stars are holes in the rocky vault that is the sky.

The Nyae Nyae !Kung Bushmen saw the sky as the dwelling place of all the divine beings and spirits of the dead. The “things of the sky” generally do not influence or reflect the affairs of man, the !Kung taught, nor do they affect the weather, the growth of vegetation, or other conditions of the earth; they are in a realm of their own.

In Xhosa, a star is inkwenkwezi, inkanyezi in Zulu, nyenyedzi in Shona, dinaledi in Sotho, tinyeleti in Tsonga, maledzi in Venda, linaleri in Setswana, and nyota in Swahili.

While the /Xam Bushmen believed the stars were formerly people, some !Kung Bushmen taught that stars are, in fact, small creatures, and look like tiny porcupines - they have little legs, ears, teeth and are covered with tiny spines. Another !Kung account says that stars are actually ant lions, watching from overhead with their bright eyes. When they are hungry and see an ant, they quickly fall to the ground to catch it. Some say that all the stars fall to the ground each morning, and we see them on earth as insects. The Ibibio of Nigeria spoke picturesquely of the stars as “Sand of the Moon”.

The Moon
The Moon – iNyanga to the Xhosa and Zulu, Nwedzi to the Shona and Venda, and Ngwedi to the Sotho and Tswana – is probably the most obvious feature in the night sky, because of its size, brightness, and changing appearance (phases). As the Moon orbits the Earth it goes through a sequence of phases, from New Moon (invisible) to crescent, half-moon, Full Moon, half-moon, and back to New Moon.

To the Kora KhoiKhoi, the Moon was kham, “the Returner”; the Nama KhoiKhoi spoke of khab. The KhoiKhoi also considered the Moon as “the Lord of Light and Life”, and would sing and dance at times of New and Full Moon.

The Nyae Nyae !Kung Bushmen said that the crescent phases with sharp points was male, while the Full round Moon was female.

The Xhosa considered the time of New Moon as a period of inaction. When it reappeared as a crescent in the evening sky, it was cause for celebration. Important events were scheduled to take place around the time of Full Moon. Also at Full Moon the mothers would de-worm their children, believing that at this time the worms collected in one place and could be effectively treated.

The Naro Bushmen taught that when the crescent Moon slopes downward, it is said to be looking into a grave and this is a sign that many people will die in that season. A crescent pointing upward was a favourable sign. The round Full Moon is a sign of satisfaction and that people will find plenty of food.

In /Xam Bushmen mythology, the Moon is a man who has made the Sun angry. The Sun’s sharp light cuts off pieces of the Moon until almost the whole of the Moon is gone, leaving only one small piece. The Moon then pleads for mercy and the Sun lets him go. From this small piece, the Moon gradually grows again until it becomes a Full Moon. The /Xam also have another account of how the Moon came to be. In the old times, it was said, the Moon was one of the leather sandals of the Mantis-god /kaggen. The sandal was placed in water to soften it somewhat, but this angered the water spirit who then froze the water, locking the sandal in ice. When /kaggen saw the frozen sandal he discarded it, throwing it up into the sky, where it became the Moon. Whatever its origin, the /Xam considered the New Moon as being able to influence hunting and the gathering of ants’ eggs, and when the crescent was sighted, they would ask for its assistance.

The surface of the Moon has dark and bright markings; flat lava plains and rocky highlands, respectively. In many African traditions these markings are said to resemble the figure of a man or woman carrying a bundle of sticks.

When the Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon, a lunar eclipse occurs. The Nyae Nyae !Kung Bushmen said that this was caused by the lion, putting his paw over the Moon to darken the night so he could have better hunting

Under certain atmospheric conditions, a “moon bow” can form, appearing as a large ring around the Moon. To the /Gwi Bushman, such a ring was a sign that food will be plentiful.

Bright southern stars

The Southern Cross (Crux) and the two bright Pointers (alpha and beta Centuari) are probably the most recognizable of the southern stars, and they feature prominently in African star lore.

In Sotho, Tswana and Venda traditions, these stars are Dithutlwa, “The Giraffes”. The bright stars of Crux are male giraffes, and the two Pointers are female. The Venda called the fainter stars of the Southern Cross Thudana, “The Little Giraffe”. They also say that the month Khubvhumedzi begins when the crescent Moon can be seen for the first time and, at the same time, the lower two giraffe stars are just below the horizon and the upper two are just visible. Sotho lore tells that when the giraffe stars are seen close to the south-western horizon just after sunset, they indicate the beginning of cultivating season.

The /Xam Bushmen saw the two Pointers as male lions; they were once men, but a magical girl turned them into stars. The three brightest stars of the Southern Cross they saw to be female lions. To the Khoikhoi, the Pointers were known as Mura, “The Eyes”, of some great celestial beast.

The Coal Sack, a large dark nebula near the Southern Cross, is known as the “Old Bag of the Night” to the Nyae Nyae !Kung Bushmen.

The long axis of the Southern Cross points towards a bright star called Achernar. This star is called Senakane (Sotho, Tswana) and Tshinanga (Venda), meaning “The Little Horn”.

Brighter still than Achernar is Canopus, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It is widely known in southern Africa as Naka, “The Horn Star”. In Sotho tradition, a careful watch was kept for Naka about the end of May. Sotho chiefs awarded a cow for Naka’s earliest sighting. The day of the sighting the chief would call his medicine-men together. Throwing their bone dice, the doctors would judge whether the new season would be good or bad. The appearance of Naka also heralds coming of winter and browning of the veld. When Naka appeared before sunrise, the Tswana knew it was time to start breeding their sheep. In Venda tradition, the first person to see Nanga in the morning sky (in May, heralding winter) would climb a hill and blow the phalaphala (black sable antelope horn) and he would receive a cow as a prize. The Zulu knew Canopus as isAndulela, a messenger appearing at the end of Autumn, the harvest time, and also as inKhwenkwezi, “The Brilliant Star”. The /Xam Bushmen believed that Canopus could influence the availability of ants’ eggs, a rich source of nourishment, and they called it “The Ant Egg Star”.

The beautiful constellation Scorpius with its slender curved row of stars is famous for the bright reddish star Antares. This star was called by the !Xu Bushmen “The Fire-Finishing Star” – not only does it have a reddish colour, but (at certain times of the year) it sets very late at night, when the camp fires have died down. (See also Arcturus and Regulus below.)

Along the curved body of the scorpion, just before the tail section, lies a close pair of stars (mu-1 and mu-2 Scorpii), which the Khoikhoi called xami di mura, “The Eyes of the Lion”.

Near Scorpius is a conspicuous circlet of stars known as Corona Australis, the Southern Crown. The /Xam Bushmen had a tale about a group of men who sat eating together when a bewitched girl look upon them, turning them into these stars.

The bright star Fomalhaut lies in a rather star-poor region and is prominent in the summer sky. It is called Ndemara, “The Sweetheart Star”, by the Shona, and Ntshuna, “The Kiss Me Star”, by the Tswana. The visibility of this star was supposed to indicate the time for lovers to part before their parents discovered them. (Compare this with the tale about Venus the Evening Star, below).

Another prominent southern star is Peacock (alpha Pavonis); the /Gwi Bushmen call it “The Female Steenbok”.

The Magellanic Clouds
On a moonless night under a dark sky, two interesting “clouds” can be seen to the south, one cloud much larger and brighter than the other. These are the Magellanic Clouds, or the “Cape Clouds”, and are actually entire galaxies, thousands of light years away.

The Ju/Wasi and !Kung Bushmen said that the larger cloud was a part of the sky where soft thornless grass grows, like the kind they used for bedding. One day, they say, God climbed onto the large cloud and went hunting. Several other Bushman groups saw the two clouds as male and female steenbok.

The Sotho saw the clouds as the spoor of two celestial animals. The large cloud was Setlhako sa Naka, “The Spoor of the Horn Star” (Naka, Canopus) and the smaller cloud was Setlhako sa Senakane, “The Spoor of the Little Horn Star” (Senakane, Achernar).

Tswana folklore tells that when the small cloud appeared more clearly than the large cloud, a drought would follow.

Visit PsychoHistorian.org for more lore on the Sun, The Milky Way, The stars around Orion, Venus, comets and meteors.
http://www.psychohistorian.org/display_article.php?id=200901111733_african_star_lore.content#20110205083546440
Original Source: http://www.psychohistorian.org/
Posted from: http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=347
Thank you to Paolo Gallo, M.V., Venezuela for the forwarded post.

2001 Meteorite News AP-newswire

Sugar compounds found in meteorites; bolsters theory that ingredients of life came from outer space
Author: ALEX DOMINGUEZ Associated Press Writer Date: December 19, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive Sugar compounds, an indispensable ingredient for life today, have been found in meteorites, bolstering the theory that chunks of rock from outer space delivered the materials that gave rise to life in Earth. Another key ingredient, amino acids, has already been found in meteorites. George Cooper of NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., said that while it has not been proved that meteorites delivered the materials that led to life, the discovery means... Click here for complete article ($1.50)

Researchers says NASA's Mars researchers have failed to prove case for bacteria fossils in Martian meteorite
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer Date: November 20, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive A group of researchers say NASA scientists have failed to prove their contention that a Mars meteorite contains evidence of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet. A group led by Peter R. Buseck of Arizona State University said that the NASA researchers have inadequate evidence showing that tiny crystalline structures in Mars meteorite ALH84001 were formed by bacteria billions of years ago as the rock was sitting on the Martian surface. A study with Buseck as the first author appears... Click here for complete article ($1.50)

Asteroid photos show complex surface with dust 'ponds' likely formed after impacts, researchers say
Author: WILLIAM McCALL Associated Press Writer Date: September 26, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive Photos taken by the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid show a landscape littered with boulders, small rocks and other debris that appear to have partly eroded and settled into mysterious "ponds" of thick dust, researchers say. The photos taken by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft, called NEAR, add evidence to the theory that even the weak gravity of an asteroid can hold on to much of the flying debris created when struck by another object such as... Click here for complete article ($1.50)

Geologists scour Colorado countryside for remnants of meteor seen from Idaho to New Mexico
Author: JUDITH KOHLER Associated Press Writer Date: August 30, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive Geologist Jack Murphy is in hot pursuit of remnants of a fireball spotted in the Western skies. Murphy heads a team of meteor hunters at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science that is chasing reports of a white ball described as up to 40 times brighter than the moon. Data from an acoustic tracking system at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico suggest the meteor weighed roughly a ton and plummeted toward earth at 11.25 miles a second on Aug. 17. ... Click here for complete article ($1.50)


Newly discovered Mars meteorite could be window into Red Planet
Author: ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS Associated Press Writer Date: June 16, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A fist-sized meteorite, one of only 18 rocks on Earth known to have come from Mars, has been found by Swiss scientists in the Oman desert -- a prize discovery that could help determine if the planet ever sustained life.
Scientists at the University of Bern announced the find Friday and said they are just beginning to examine the meteorite. Most of the other 17 Martian rocks have been snapped up by collectors, they said, so few are fully available for study. "I suspected from...
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Meteorites from moon, Mars found
Date: April 8, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Researchers have discovered two new examples of the rarest space rocks found on Earth: meteorites from the moon and Mars.
The two rocks are the 15th and 17th meteorites to be found from the moon and Mars, respectively, making them the least common among the estimated 22,000 meteorites discovered on this planet. News of the discoveries was announced this month and will be reported in the July 2001 bulletin of the Meteoritical Society, an international organization devoted to the study of...
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Meteorite disappoints scientists after a year-long study
Author: The Associated Press Date: April 6, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
To scientists' disappointment, a meteorite that fell on a frozen Canadian lake has been found to contain none of the organic ingredients believed necessary to have initiated life on Earth.
Many scientists believe that simple life arose on Earth more than 4 billion years ago after meteorites crashed through the atmosphere, carrying amino acids and other biochemical compounds from outer space. The fragments of a 220-ton meteorite that were sprinkled on Tagish Lake in British...
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Study: Crystal in meteorite proves life once existed on Mars
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer Date: February 27, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A crystal found in a meteorite from Mars could only have been formed by a microbe and may be evidence of the oldest life form ever found, researchers say.
Scientists at the Johnson Space Center in Houston say that a crystalized magnetic mineral, called magnetite, found in a Martian meteorite is similar to crystals formed on Earth by bacteria. "I am convinced that this is supporting evidence for the presence of ancient life on Mars," said Kathie Thomas-Keprta, an...
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Researchers say crystal in meteorite proves life once existed on Mars
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer Date: February 27, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A controversial finding that a meteorite from Mars might contain evidence of life has been boosted by the discovery of a magnetic crystal that researchers say could have been made only by a microbe.
In a study appearing Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston say a crystalized magnetic mineral called magnetite, found in a Martian meteorite, is similar to crystals formed on Earth by bacteria. "I am...
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Astronomers find key ingredients for formation of life
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer Date: February 20, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Complex carbon molecules and water, which are key ingredients for life, have been found in the dust and gas around distant stars. The findings boost the theory that the cosmic stew of life is common in the universe.
Astronomers reported Monday that orbiting observatories probing the space around both young and dying stars have found vast waves of water vapor and clear traces of carbon molecules that can play a basic role in organic chemistry. "This strengthens greatly the...
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Japanese team finds 3,554 meteorites in Antarctica
Date: January 23, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Japanese scientists have found 3,554 meteorites in Antarctica during a three-week search, a collection that could yield clues about the rest of our solar system, a government official said Tuesday.
The finds were made around the Yamato mountain range about 186 miles from Japan's base on the rim of Antarctica, said Shigeru Kure of Japan's science ministry. A meteorite is a meteor that survives the destructive effects of a flight through the atmosphere and falls to...
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2000 Meteorite News AP-newswire

Expert: Explosion in sky probably a meteorite
Date: December 27, 2000 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A small meteorite's fall to Earth was the likely cause of a sonic boom and streaks of light over southeastern Australia which sparked dozens of calls to police, an expert said Wednesday.
"It is most likely to be a meteorite," said Ian Warren, operations supervisor at the Deep Space Communications Complex in the national capital, Canberra. "The size of the meteorite would probably be about coffee cup size, that would cause a sonic boom and...
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Study: Carbon-rich meteorite may give new clues to origin of life
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer Date: October 12, 2000 Publication: Associated Press Archive
In a search for new clues about the origin of life, researchers worldwide are analyzing bits of a bus-sized meteorite that blazed to Earth last January in a spectacular fireball, giving science the most pristine primordial matter ever recovered.
The meteorite, estimated to weigh about 220 tons when it smashed into the atmosphere, shattered before it hit the ground and sprayed bits of space rock over a frozen lake in Canada's British Columbia. More than 70 eyewitness saw the...
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It came from outer space: Rock that damaged car is a meteorite
Date: July 25, 2000 Publication: Associated Press Archive
It was no ordinary rock that broke Rick Wirth's windshield four years ago. It came from outer space. And it's older than the Earth.
Wirth got confirmation that his rock is a meteorite from a geology professor Monday. In 35 years at the University of Minnesota, professor Paul Weiblen said he has seen thousands of rocks brought in by people who thought they had meteorites. All of them were mere Earth rocks.
But when last month he saw the rock that broke...
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Oregon tribes agree to share sacred meteorite with NYC museum
Author: LARRY McSHANE Associated Press Writer Date: June 22, 2000 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The heads of the Museum of Natural History and an American Indian group signed an agreement Thursday to share custody of a 10,000-year-old meteorite that's a centerpiece of the museum's new planetarium.
"What a milestone it is to have reached this agreement here," said Kathryn Harrison, chairwoman of Oregon's Grand Ronde Tribal Council, after the deal was finalized at a news conference at the museum. The 16-ton meteorite became...
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Scientist say age of meteorite crystals about 4.57 billion years
Date: June 9, 2000 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Salt deposited by ancient space water inside of a meteorite is about 4.57 billion years old and probably crystalized just 2 million years after the birth of the solar system, researchers say.
The salt, or halite, crystals were found within a meteorite called Zag that fell in Morocco in 1998. Similar halite crystals were reported last year inside of a meteorite that fell in Monahans, Texas. In a study appearing Friday in the journal Science, researchers at the University of Manchester...
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Museum: Tribe has no claim to meteorite
Date: February 29, 2000 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The American Museum of Natural History argues that Oregon Indians have no claim to a 15 1/2-ton meteorite that the museum has owned for 94 years and is the centerpiece of a showy new building.
The museum on Monday asked a federal court to reject a claim filed in September by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, which contends the meteorite is a sacred object and should be returned under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The iron...
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Museum says Oregon Indian tribe has no claim to meteorite
Date: February 28, 2000 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The American Museum of Natural History argued Monday that Oregon Indian tribes have no claim to a 15 1/2-ton meteorite that the museum has owned for 94 years.
The museum asked a federal court to reject a claim filed in September by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, which contends the meteorite is a sacred object and should be returned under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The iron meteorite crashed into Earth some 10,000 years...
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Tribe demands meteorite at center of new planetarium
Author: JOHN JURGENSEN Associated Press Writer Date: February 19, 2000 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A group of American Indians says a 16-ton meteorite that will be the main attraction at the Museum of Natural History's new planetarium is a holy tribal object and should be returned to Oregon.
The meteorite -- about the size of a small car -- was ready for display at the opening of the planetarium's main hall today. The meteorite hit Earth more than 10,000 years ago and was moved by glacial ice to a hillside in West Linn, Ore. The Clackamas tribe adopted it as a...
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Astronomers find complex organic molecules in space
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer
Date: January 12, 2000 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A primordial soup of complex organic chemicals that could be the precursors of life is cooked up very quickly after the birth of stars, new research suggests.
"Life could have had an easier time starting than we thought before," astronomer Sun Kwok said Wednesday at a national meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Kwok, of the University of Calgary, Canada, said a study by the Infrared Space Observatory showed that large organic molecules evolve within...
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1998 Meteorite News AP-newswire

Asians look to sky for spectacular meteor storm
Author: DANIEL L. SMITH Associated Press Writer Date: November 18, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Stargazers across Asia huddled in the pre-dawn chill today, admiring the flares of red and white that streaked through the night sky during the greatest meteor shower in decades.
NASA sent up research planes from this U.S. Air Force base in southern Japan in an attempt to glean hints into the origins of life on Earth and the planet's relationship to the cosmos. From Thailand's highest peak to the neon-drenched streets of Tokyo, people in Asia -- where meteors...
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Scientists and stargazers watch spectacular meteor storm
Author: DANIEL L. SMITH Associated Press Writer Date: November 18, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Meteors streaked through the skies over Asia in blazes of red and white as the biggest meteor storm in decades reached its climax just before dawn Wednesday.
While stargazers gathered across the globe, NASA scientists boarded planes to get above the clouds over Japan to study the spectacle, which began Monday. From the top of the highest mountain in Thailand, to the neon-drenched streets of Tokyo, to the deserts and plains of the United States, people turned their eyes to the skies for...
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APN SUNDAY ILLUSTRATIONS: Subscribers get 1 photo, NY367 of Nov. 17.
Date: November 16, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
At age 95, chemist dazzled by uses of his decades-old discovery
By BEN DOBBIN Associated Press Writer
CORNING, N.Y. (AP) -- When he figured out a way to make exceptionally pure glass, chemist Frank Hyde knew his discovery would have myriad applications.
But who, back in 1934, could have foreseen spaceship windows, precision lenses to build ever-so-tiny computer chips, or the gossamer strands of optical fiber?
"I'm surprised at some of the...
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Scientists launch airborne mission to study Leonid meteor shower
Author: JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA AP Science Writer
Date: November 16, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
From ancient Chinese emperors to crooner Perry Como, stargazers have dreamed of the day they could catch a "falling star."
Physicist Steve Butow isn't just dreaming. He is dispatching a pair of aircraft filled with scientific instruments to examine the Leonid meteor storm as it pelts Earth's atmosphere with fiery debris. The celestial fireworks are expected to peak Tuesday and Wednesday, as Earth passes through the long tail of Comet...
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Mir cosmonauts deploy 'meteorite trap' during spacewalk
Author: VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press Writer
Date: November 11, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Two Russian cosmonauts on the Mir space station deployed a device for studying small meteorite particles and handled more than a dozen other tasks during a six-hour spacewalk that ended early today.
Cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Avdeyev installed the French-made "meteorite trap," which should collect data on a barrage of particles expected to peak around the Mir in mid-November, said Valery Lyndin, spokesman for mission control. The device will stay...
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Mir cosmonauts take spacewalk to install meteor device
Date: November 11, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Two Russian cosmonauts on the Mir space station deployed a device for catching small meteorite particles, during a six-hour spacewalk that ended early Wednesday.
The French-made "meteorite trap" will collect data on a barrage of particles expected to peak around the Mir in mid-November, said Valery Lyndin, spokesman for mission control. The device will stay attached to the Mir until 1999, when it will be taken for analysis back to earth early next year.
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Mir cosmonauts prepare for spacewalk to install meteor device
Date: November 10, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Two Russian cosmonauts on the Mir space station are heading out into space to mount a French-made device for catching and studying small meteorite particles, a news report said today.
Cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Avdeyev were to venture into open space late tonight to install the "meteorite trap," which should collect data on a barrage of particles expected to peak around the Mir in mid-November, the ITAR-Tass news agency said. The device will stay...
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Scientists launch airborne mission to study Leonid meteor shower
Author: JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA AP Science Writer
Date: November 9, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
From ancient Chinese emperors to crooner Perry Como, stargazers have dreamed of the day they could catch a "falling star."
Physicist Steve Butow isn't just dreaming. He is dispatching a pair of aircraft filled with scientific instruments to examine the Leonid meteor storm as it pelts Earth's atmosphere with fiery debris. This close encounter is the chance of his lifetime. The celestial fireworks are expected to peak Tuesday and Wednesday,...
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Mir's crew prepares for micro-meteorite 'rain'
Date: November 3, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The crew of the Mir space station will not face any serious danger when their space outpost enters a cloud of micro-meteorites later this month, space officials said Tuesday.
Just to be safe, however, cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Avdeyev will board a Soyuz escape capsule permanently attached to the six-module station when the barrage of meteorites peaks in mid-November, said deputy Mission Control chief Viktor Blagov. The "meteorite rain"... Click here for complete article ($1.50)

More evidence found that end of dinosaurs came from the sky
Author: RANDOLPH E. SCHMID Associated Press Writer
Date: October 29, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Scientists have uncovered more evidence that death from the sky ended the reign of the dinosaurs on earth.
According to a report in Friday's edition of the journal Science, a meteorite or comet produced an element, chromium, found in the layer of the Earth's crust that dates to the dinosaurs' end. An impact by an object six to 12 miles in diameter in what is now the Gulf of Mexico has been the leading candidate among theories explaining why the great...
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Oldest extraterrestrial debris offers clues to early conditions on Earth
Author: JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA AP Science Writer
Date: September 10, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
It's old dirt, but it's old dirt that scientists can't get enough of.
Cosmic grit that survived a fiery ride from space 1.4 billion years ago has been discovered in a layer of sandstone in Finland, offering a glimpse of conditions on Earth during the earliest stages of life's formation. The micrometeorites are by far the oldest extraterrestrial debris found on this planet, according to the German and Finnish field team, which published its...
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Oldest extraterrestrial debris offers clues to early conditions on Earth
Author: JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA AP Science Writer
Date: September 9, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Cosmic grit that survived a fiery ride from space 1.4 billion years ago has been discovered in a layer of sandstone in Finland, offering scientists a glimpse at conditions on Earth during the earliest stages of life's formation.
The micrometeorites are by far the oldest extraterrestrial debris found on this planet, according to the German and Finnish field team, which published its discovery in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. The particles are known as...
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Meteorite doesn't contain signs of life, researchers say
Author: KELLY P. KISSEL Associated Press Writer Date: August 14, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Scientists were mistaken when they thought a potato-sized rock found in Antarctica held evidence suggesting life on Mars, according to three papers in a journal about meteors.
"Orson Welles made us want to believe it," said Derek Sears, editor of Meteoritics and Planetary Science at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. But it's unlikely Martians will ever be involved in anything like Welles' "War of the...
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Mars Meteorite doesn't contain signs of life, researchers say
Author: KELLY P. KISSEL Associated Press Writer Date: August 14, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Scientists were mistaken when they thought a rock in Antarctica contained evidence suggesting life on Mars, according to three papers in a journal about meteors.
One article to be published today in Meteoritics and Planetary Science at the University of Arkansas says non-Martian rocks showed the same "evidence" of life. The other articles say temperatures were too high for tiny bacteria to form and leave organic evidence in the nooks and crannies of the 4.5...
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British scientists identify 13th meteorite from Mars
Date: August 10, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A meteorite discovered in the Sahara Desert was positively identified Monday as originating from Mars, British scientists said.
Out of 20,000 found worldwide, the 4.8-pound rock is only the 13th meteorite proven to be from the red planet. Meteorite experts hope this latest discovery, called Lucky 13, will tell scientists more about environmental conditions on Mars and aid in the search for evidence of life on the planet.
"This is another piece in the jigsaw...
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NASA sticks to theory as doubts increase
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer
Date: August 4, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The announcement stunned the world: Scientists had found evidence of life on Mars.
Inside a meteorite from Mars, NASA researchers said, they had discovered the fossilized remains of tiny, bacteria-like animals that may have once thrived on the Red Planet. The idea seized global attention and gave sudden popular legitimacy to the possibility of extraterrestrial life. President Clinton called for a space summit. Famed scientist Carl Sagan called it "a possible turning point in...
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New images show Jupiter moon with crater chain, hints of past ocean
Author: JANE E. ALLEN AP Science Writer
Date: July 16, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The latest photos released Wednesday of Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, suggest an early ocean beneath its surface from which water was shot through volcanoes.
The photos also show a crater chain created when the Jupiter moon was smacked by 13 comet fragments, which may have helped supply the essential ingredients for life. "We don't know and that's why we're out there looking," said James Head, a Brown...
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Jupiter's moon Ganymede has crater chain, hints of past ocean
Author: JANE E. ALLEN AP Science Writer
Date: July 15, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
New images show Jupiter's giant moon Ganymede has geologic hints of an early subsurface ocean and a chain of 13 craters that could have come from a broken-up comet.
But scientists still can't say whether life ever existed there. "We don't know and that's why we're out there looking," said James Head, a Brown University planetary scientist. "You have heat, liquid water, organic material coming...
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'Armageddon' has nothing on Manson's extraterrestrial claim to fame
Author: GREG SMITH Associated Press Writer
Date: July 4, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
As "Armageddon" hits the big screen, it isn't going to make a deep impact among folks here.
After all, they already have their own extraterrestrial claim to fame: a 24-mile wide crater formed some 74 million years ago when a huge meteorite slammed into north-central Iowa and turned the region into a giant killing field. Geologists say it's the second-largest crater in the continental United States and 15th-largest in the world....
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City council sides with boys in meteorite fight
Author: CHRIS NEWTON Associated Press Writer
Date: June 10, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The city council agrees: It's finders, keepers.
Seven boys who laid claim to a meteorite that crashed near where they played basketball won their fight Tuesday, when the Monahans City Council voted unanimously to let them keep the space rock. The mayor and city manager of this West Texas city had said the rock landed on city property on March 22 and thus belonged to them.
But council members said before their 4-0 vote that it would be heartless not to recognize the...
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Boy finds meteorite, but city officials say 'finders keepers' doesn't apply
Author: CHRIS NEWTON Associated Press Writer
Date: June 9, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Eleven-year-old Alvaro Lyles says a meteorite that landed in his front yard belongs to him and his family under one of the oldest rules in the book: "finders, keepers."
But city officials are holding on to the soccer ball-sized rock, saying it actually landed on government property. The city council is scheduled to take up the ownership issue at a meeting tonight. Alvaro's father has threatened to sue the city if the meteorite isn't...
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Scientists raise new questions about life in Mars rock
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer
Date: June 4, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A chemical study casts fresh doubt on claims by NASA scientists that a rock from Mars contains evidence of life.
A California research team says a mineral structure inside the meteorite were made by nonbiologic processes, and not by ancient bacteria as proposed by some researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A space agency scientist says the research is flawed and does not prove that microbes never lived inside the rock known as Allen Hills 84001.
The...
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Odds and Ends
Author: The Associated Press Date: May 28, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
"Armageddon" came and went in less than five days. The banner, that is.
Traffic became nightmarish after a 10-story banner for the upcoming film was unveiled in sight of one of the busiest highway interchanges in California. The eye-catching ad, posted on a 15-story building, shows a flaming meteorite flying through the side of a glass office building.
The sign came down Wednesday because no one bothered to get a permit to put it up.
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More fireballs seen in the West; scientists differ on meaning
Author: MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press Writer
Date: February 12, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The phone lines to Denver's Museum of Natural History have been buzzing since a fireball streaked across the Colorado sky last month.
That flash of light, caught on a homeowner's security camera, was not an isolated incident; it was followed by at least four more fireball sightings, said Jack Murphy of the museum's geology department. He hopes to find pieces of the celestial objects for the museum's collection. As new reports of sightings...
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Cosmonauts pitch Space Pens, Russian spacesuits in American TV debut
Author: CHRIS OLERT Associated Press Writer
Date: February 7, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The pen was mightier than the word when late-night television crossed the final shopping frontier early Saturday.
Two Russian cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station, appearing live on the QVC shopping channel, set out to hawk the American-made $32.75 Fisher Space Pen, used on NASA space flights since 1967 because it can write in the absence of gravity. As they orbited 200 miles above the Earth, a technical problem kept Commander Anatoly Solovyov and flight engineer Pavel Vinogradov...
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Shopping heaven -- cosmonauts to hawk Mars rocks, spacesuits on QVC
Author: RICHARD PYLE Associated Press Writer
Date: February 6, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Just when you thought late-night television couldn't get any weirder, Russian cosmonauts are taking over QVC.
Two cosmonauts will appear on the cable shopping channel live via satellite from the orbiting Mir station Saturday as ex-flight engineer Alexander Lazutkin offers comments from the stage of a New York comedy club. No joke -- the Russians are hawking spacesuits, meteorites and Mars rocks.
Just what they get out of the deal isn't clear. But QVC says...
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In TV shopping orbit: Russian space suits and Mars rocks
Author: RICHARD PYLE Associated Press Writer Date: February 5, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
The glitzy universe of late-night, cable-TV shopping is expanding to include outer space, joining forces with Russia's beleaguered space program to hawk Mars rocks, meteorites and genuine cosmonaut space suits.
QVC, the channel that sold Muhammad Ali's Michigan farm and nearly clinched a deal for the Brooklyn Bridge, has enlisted the help of real cosmonauts from the Mir space station on a program early Saturday. Two cosmonauts will appear live by satellite from...
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Studies say life traces in Mars rock probably came from Earth; NASA scientists disagree
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer
Date: January 16, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
NASA scientists who say they found evidence of Martian microbes in a rock that came from Mars are not impressed with two studies that say the rock actually contains organic contaminants from Earth.
In reports published today in the journal Science, researchers at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography conclude that amino acids and carbon found in the Mars rock got there after it landed on Earth and lay on Antarctic ice for thousands of years. The...
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Studies: Life traces in Mars rock probably came from Earth
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer
Date: January 15, 1998 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Organic chemicals found in a Martian rock may be contamination from Earth and not evidence of life on the Red Planet, new studies suggest. But NASA scientists say the reports "don't shake our belief one bit."
Laboratory studies at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography conclude that amino acids and carbon found in a rock from Mars probably got there after the rock landed on Earth and lay on Antarctic ice for...
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