. 24/7 Space News .
IRON AND ICE
ATLAS Telescope Pinpoints Meteorite Impact Prediction
by Staff Writers
Honolulu HI (SPX) Jul 16, 2018

Impact time and location predictions for asteroid 2018LA. The long blue bar shows the predictions prior to ATLAS data being obtained. The much shorter red bar in the image shows the prediction including ATLAS data, while the yellow star marks the actual location. ATLAS clearly made it possible to associate the impact with the observed asteroid.

A multinational team of scientists has just found the first fragments of the small asteroid 2018 LA, which exploded harmlessly high above Africa on June 2. The University of Hawaii's Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope took the final images of 2018 LA before it entered Earth's atmosphere and exploded.

Although 2018 LA was discovered by a different telescope in Arizona, ATLAS played a crucial role in determining the asteroid's final destination. Prior to the ATLAS measurement, impact predictions showed 2018 LA hitting the Earth anywhere from Madagascar to the South Pacific - a range spanning almost half Earth's southern hemisphere.

By measuring the asteroid more than 2 hours after it was last seen from Arizona, and less than 5 hours before it exploded, ATLAS greatly improved the accuracy with which the pre-impact orbit could be calculated, helping to prove the bright meteor subsequently seen over Botswana was indeed the fiery demise of 2018 LA.

What makes this especially satisfying to Hawaii's ATLAS team is that their robotic telescope wasn't specifically aimed at 2018 LA: it just found the asteroid while automatically scanning the sky - exactly what the telescope is designed to do.

ATLAS consists of two telescopes, 100 miles apart, with one on Maunaloa on Hawaii Island, and one on Haleakala, Maui. They automatically scan the whole sky several times every night looking for moving objects. The goal of the ATLAS survey is to look in all directions and see asteroids before they can hit the Earth, and on June 2 it did just that.

"This is a great test of the system," said ATLAS Principal Investigator Larry Denneau.

"We've confirmed that ATLAS can find impactors. If 2018 LA had been big enough to cause a dangerous explosion, like the asteroid that hit Russia in 2013, we'd have had enough warning that people could evacuate the impact zone."

Luckily, 2018 LA was harmless, but important to science. This is only the second time in history that fragments have been found from an asteroid whose orbit was known prior to its impact with Earth - and when they have been chemically analyzed, we'll know what kind of asteroid 2018 LA was.

ATLAS currently discovers about 100 asteroids bigger than 30m every year. Were it to hit Earth, an asteroid that size would impact with enough energy to destroy a city like Honolulu. For the first time in history, astronomers can provide sufficient warning to move people away from the impact site.

Additional information on ATLAS can be found here


Related Links
Manoa'S Institute For Astronomy
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


IRON AND ICE
Fragment of Impacting Asteroid Recovered in Botswana
Mountain View, CA (SPX) Jul 09, 2018
A meteorite was found in Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) that is a fragment of asteroid 2018 LA. This small asteroid was discovered in space by the University of Arizona's Catalina Sky Survey on June 2, 2018, eight hours before hitting Earth. The asteroid burst through the upper atmosphere and resulted in a meteor fireball. The asteroid detonated a few seconds after entry and the explosion was witnessed in Botswana and neighboring countries. "The biggest uncertainty we faced was to ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

IRON AND ICE
Orion Jettison Motor Ready for Crew Escape System Test

First space tourist flights could come in 2019

Testing Refines Requirements for Deep Space Habitat Design

Making oxygen from water may pave way for long-distance space travel

IRON AND ICE
Boeing, SpaceX unlikely to make manned flights to ISS in 2019

Experimental Spaceplane Program Successfully Completes Engine Test Series

Aurora Launch Services established in Alaska To provide responsive launch services

Multiple Launches in Two Weeks: Maximizing Vehicle Payload

IRON AND ICE
NASA May Have Destroyed Evidence for Organics on Mars 40 Years Ago

Scientists Discover "Ghost Dunes" On Mars

UK space sector set to benefit from new European Space Agency contract

Airbus wins two ESA studies for Mars Sample Return mission

IRON AND ICE
China readying for space station era: Yang Liwei

China launches new space science program

China Rising as Major Space Power

China launches new-tech experiment twin satellites

IRON AND ICE
EIB and ESA to cooperate on increasing investments in the European Space Sector

China Mulls Creation of Joint Global Satellite System with Russia

Laser-Based System is Set to Expand Space-to-Ground Communication

Yes we've got a space agency - but our industry needs 'Space Prize Australia'

IRON AND ICE
Astronomer Reveals When Soviet-Era Interplanetary Station Will Crash to Earth

Giant Satellite Fuel Tank Sets New Record for 3-D Printed Space Parts

New insights bolster Einstein's idea about how heat moves through solids

Spectral cloaking could make objects invisible under realistic conditions

IRON AND ICE
NASA's Webb Space Telescope to Inspect Atmospheres of Gas Giant Exoplanets

TESS Spacecraft Continues Testing Prior to First Observations

NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Pauses Science Observations to Download Science Data

Rocky planet neighbor looks familiar, but is not Earth's twin

IRON AND ICE
First Global Maps of Pluto and Charon from New Horizons Published

Europa's Ocean Ascending

Jupiter's moons create uniquely patterned aurora on the gas giant planet

'Cataclysmic' collision shaped Uranus' evolution









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.