Philosophy
"From asteroid to hero - the makings of a scientist"
May 2010
Science in Africa
A South African scholar who sighted a new asteroid has become something of a hero for young science boffins in the country.
Ernie Halberg, a 12th grade student in South Africa, and member of The Astronomical Society of South Africa [ASSA] / Space School Africa, sighted a new asteroid known as 2010 DC2 for the first time earlier this year in February.
It is not the discovery of the asteroid itself which has garnered attention, it is that the discovery was made by a scholar in Africa. Considering that finding an asteroid is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack, and that it required many hours over several months of dedicated star-gazing, the feat becomes particularly meaningful.
So how did he do it? Inspired by his science teacher Adrian Meyer to "find an asteroid", Ernie Halberg set off on a project on deep space observation.
Under the tutelage of veteran asteroid hunter and Canadian geophysicist Andrew Lowe, who confirmed the sighting of asteroid 2010 DC2, Ernie rented time on a powerful telescope based remotely in New Mexico in the USA. The telescopes and astronomical resources are managed by a company called Global Rent a Scope (GRAS), a global network of professional grade remote access telescopes, based in the USA and Australia.
Via the internet and using a script, Ernie could direct one of the 10" (0.25m) G4 telescope at GRAS (known as GRAS004) to point to a specific area and at a specific time. To search for asteroids, he downloaded the image files collected and searched for any unknown moving object against the fixed background of stars.
According to Lowe, Ernie noticed the reasonably bright unknown object while shooting a discovery field at a right ascension of 10h46m00s and declination of +02d50'30" and a second field at 10h46m00s +02d10'30". He measured the coordinates of the asteroid as it moved during 40 minutes. The find was also confirmed by the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, MA who designated the asteroid as 2010 DC2.
2010 DC2 is an asteroid of about 2 km in diameter, and at the time of sighting was in the finest view in the last 13 years. Before, the asteroid was fainter and in the far northern part of the sky or the far southern part of the sky, where professional surveys were not looking. 2010 DC2 takes about 4.23 years to go around the sun, and is in the middle part of the asteroid belt.
The orbit of 2010 DC2, showing the position of the asteroid and the earth and the other inner planets on February 18, the day that Ernie saw it for the first time. The sun and earth and asteroid are almost in a straight line, which is the ideal position to see the asteroid at its brightest. Since Ernie was using a 10" (0.25m) remote access telescope in New Mexico, which is quite small, this is an important consideration.
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Philosophy
South African student and 2010 DC2
"From asteroid to hero - the makings of a scientist"May 2010
Science in Africa
A South African scholar who sighted a new asteroid has become something of a hero for young science boffins in the country.
Ernie Halberg, a 12th grade student in South Africa, and member of The Astronomical Society of South Africa [ASSA] / Space School Africa, sighted a new asteroid known as 2010 DC2 for the first time earlier this year in February.
It is not the discovery of the asteroid itself which has garnered attention, it is that the discovery was made by a scholar in Africa. Considering that finding an asteroid is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack, and that it required many hours over several months of dedicated star-gazing, the feat becomes particularly meaningful.
So how did he do it? Inspired by his science teacher Adrian Meyer to "find an asteroid", Ernie Halberg set off on a project on deep space observation.
Under the tutelage of veteran asteroid hunter and Canadian geophysicist Andrew Lowe, who confirmed the sighting of asteroid 2010 DC2, Ernie rented time on a powerful telescope based remotely in New Mexico in the USA. The telescopes and astronomical resources are managed by a company called Global Rent a Scope (GRAS), a global network of professional grade remote access telescopes, based in the USA and Australia.
Via the internet and using a script, Ernie could direct one of the 10" (0.25m) G4 telescope at GRAS (known as GRAS004) to point to a specific area and at a specific time. To search for asteroids, he downloaded the image files collected and searched for any unknown moving object against the fixed background of stars.
According to Lowe, Ernie noticed the reasonably bright unknown object while shooting a discovery field at a right ascension of 10h46m00s and declination of +02d50'30" and a second field at 10h46m00s +02d10'30". He measured the coordinates of the asteroid as it moved during 40 minutes. The find was also confirmed by the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, MA who designated the asteroid as 2010 DC2.
2010 DC2 is an asteroid of about 2 km in diameter, and at the time of sighting was in the finest view in the last 13 years. Before, the asteroid was fainter and in the far northern part of the sky or the far southern part of the sky, where professional surveys were not looking. 2010 DC2 takes about 4.23 years to go around the sun, and is in the middle part of the asteroid belt.
The orbit of 2010 DC2, showing the position of the asteroid and the earth and the other inner planets on February 18, the day that Ernie saw it for the first time. The sun and earth and asteroid are almost in a straight line, which is the ideal position to see the asteroid at its brightest. Since Ernie was using a 10" (0.25m) remote access telescope in New Mexico, which is quite small, this is an important consideration.
- A Lunar Satellite?
This is ridiculous. Would the asteroid have any effect on Earth's tides? "NASA mulls plan to drag asteroid into moon's orbit" by Jeff Hecht January 2nd, 2013 New Scientist Who says NASA has lost interest in the moon? Along with rumours of...
- Grab Your Moderately Powerful Telescope...asteroid 2005 Yu55 Will Be Nearby
"Giant Asteroid to Buzz Earth Tuesday; When and How to See It" Space rock as big as 2005 YU55 hasn't gotten so close since 1976. by Ker Than November 7th, 2011 National Geographic An asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will make a close pass...
- Asteroid Vesta Today
Image taken from a distance of about 26,000 miles (41,000 kilometers). More science here that ISS and shuttles. "NASA Spacecraft to Enter Asteroid's Orbit on July 15" Julj 15th, 2011 NASA On July 15, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will begin a prolonged...
- Deceased--brian G. Marsden
Brian G. Marsden August 5th, 1937 to November 18th, 2010 "Brian Marsden, longtime director of the Minor Planet Center, dead at 73" by John Matson November 18th, 2010 Scientific American Brian G. Marsden, who as director of the International Astronomical...
- Russians And Asteroid Apophis
Did I miss the latest issue of comic book Fools In Space? "Russians to Save World From Killer Asteroid With ‘Laws of Physics’" by Sue December 30th, 2009 ChattaBox.com The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming—to save us from impending...