Greetings from the International Astronomoical Search Collaboration
New Main Belt Asteroid Discovery
Congratulations are in order. A. Kopycinska, M. Lewandowski, H. Przygucki, K. Urbanski, P. Woznicki, & J. Urbanski from Gimnazjum Miejskie im. M. Kopernika in Poland discovered the Main Belt asteroid 2010 MN2. The discovery was made on June 18th and recently confirmed by the Minor Planet Center (Harvard).
2010 MN2 is located at an average distance of 3.0 AU from the Sun, varying between 2.6 AU and 3.5 AU. Taking 5.3 years to orbit the Sun, the asteroid's orbit is inclined 18 degrees from the ecliptic indicating it has been disturbed by a collision with another asteroid or a gravitational interaction with Jupiter.
This is the same school that made the VIO (virtual impactor observation) of 2010 MF1 on June 27. This observation assisted in the removal of this near-Earth object from the JPL list of potentially hazardous asteroids.
Congratulations. Great job!!
Final Day of the Campaign
Today is the final day of the All-India Asteroid Search Campaign and International Asteroid Search Campaign. All of the schools did a wonderful job.
In spite of the persistent overcast skies and technical problems at the ARI Observatory (Westfield, IL) there were 2 Main Belt asteroid discoveries, 1 virtual impactor observation (PAH), 13 near-Earth object confirmations, and 137 NEO observations.
This is a very impressive accomplishment. Congratulations to all of you and your students!!
Happy Hunting!!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Welcome to AIASC Phase II - Message from Patrick Miller on June 29th, 2010
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
All-India Campaign
Congrulations!! You are part of the second All-India Asteorid Search Campaign, which starts on July 2nd and concludes August 13th. There are a total of 28 schools from all over India participating.
Getting Started
To get started you need to go to the IASC home page at iasc.hsutx.eduthen to the Astrometrica folder where you will download the following:
1. Astrometrica File
2. Configurations File
3. Quick Start Guide
4. Instructions for Automated & Manual Searches
5. Gude on True & False Signatures
6. Practice Image Sets (6)
Using the Quick Start Guide, install Astrometrica and the configuration files for the two telescopes at the ARI Observatory (24" and 32" prime focus telescopes).
Use the instructions for the automated and manual searches along with the practice image sets to learn how to conduct both kinds of searches. You will also be doing this at your S.P.A.C.E. training session on June 30th.
Student success in IASC depends upon you.
In order for your students to be successful in IASC, you as the teacher must be able to do the following:
1. Use Astrometrica for a manual and automated search
2. Distinguish between true and false signatures
3. Prepare a clean and accurate MPC report.
If you are good at the these three tasks and effectively communicate them to your students, your students will make important near-Earth object (NEO) observations and possibly make Main Belt asteroid discoveries.
Need Help???
If you need help as you upload Astrometrica and prepare yourself to use it, you can contact either Ginger Anderson atgingera@bwoodtx.com
Availability of Images
IASC is not a competition. Each school gets its own image sets each week to analyze.
When the skies are dark and clear, you should expect 2-4 images sets per week. Sometimes there will be technical problems at the ARI Observatory (Westfield, IL), the skies will be overcast, or the full Moon makes the skies too bright to find asteroids...during those times image sets will not be available and your students will need to be patient for a few nights until the conditions clear.
You will receive regular announcements when image sets are available or not available. You can also check the announcements found on the IASC home page at iasc.hsutx.edu. S.P.A.C.E. maintains a blog that gives you the latest news from IASC and the aavailablity of image sets.
MPC Reports
When your students fnishing analyzing an image set, they will prepare an MPC report to email only to Dr. Miller atiascsearch@hsutx.edu
July 2nd is the start date!! In the meanwhile...
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Department of Mathematics & Astronomy
Holland School of Science & Mathematics
Hardin-Simmons University
Abilene, TX 79698
pmiller@hsutx.edu
1-325-670-1393
All-India Campaign
Congrulations!! You are part of the second All-India Asteorid Search Campaign, which starts on July 2nd and concludes August 13th. There are a total of 28 schools from all over India participating.
Getting Started
To get started you need to go to the IASC home page at iasc.hsutx.eduthen to the Astrometrica folder where you will download the following:
1. Astrometrica File
2. Configurations File
3. Quick Start Guide
4. Instructions for Automated & Manual Searches
5. Gude on True & False Signatures
6. Practice Image Sets (6)
Using the Quick Start Guide, install Astrometrica and the configuration files for the two telescopes at the ARI Observatory (24" and 32" prime focus telescopes).
Use the instructions for the automated and manual searches along with the practice image sets to learn how to conduct both kinds of searches. You will also be doing this at your S.P.A.C.E. training session on June 30th.
Student success in IASC depends upon you.
In order for your students to be successful in IASC, you as the teacher must be able to do the following:
1. Use Astrometrica for a manual and automated search
2. Distinguish between true and false signatures
3. Prepare a clean and accurate MPC report.
If you are good at the these three tasks and effectively communicate them to your students, your students will make important near-Earth object (NEO) observations and possibly make Main Belt asteroid discoveries.
Need Help???
If you need help as you upload Astrometrica and prepare yourself to use it, you can contact either Ginger Anderson atgingera@bwoodtx.com
Availability of Images
IASC is not a competition. Each school gets its own image sets each week to analyze.
When the skies are dark and clear, you should expect 2-4 images sets per week. Sometimes there will be technical problems at the ARI Observatory (Westfield, IL), the skies will be overcast, or the full Moon makes the skies too bright to find asteroids...during those times image sets will not be available and your students will need to be patient for a few nights until the conditions clear.
You will receive regular announcements when image sets are available or not available. You can also check the announcements found on the IASC home page at iasc.hsutx.edu. S.P.A.C.E. maintains a blog that gives you the latest news from IASC and the aavailablity of image sets.
MPC Reports
When your students fnishing analyzing an image set, they will prepare an MPC report to email only to Dr. Miller atiascsearch@hsutx.edu
July 2nd is the start date!! In the meanwhile...
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Department of Mathematics & Astronomy
Holland School of Science & Mathematics
Hardin-Simmons University
Abilene, TX 79698
pmiller@hsutx.edu
1-325-670-1393
Monday, June 28, 2010
Image Sets Available
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Image Sets Available
Image sets from June 25, 26, and 27 are available at the IASC home site. (iasc.hsutx.edu). Check your school folder!!
The Moon remains bright and will be for another couple of days. During this time the brighter NEOs away from the Moon can be found and measured. It is difficult, however, to find any faint Main Belt asteroid discoveries.
The current campaigns, All-India Asteroid Search Campaign and Internatinoal Asteroid Search Campaign, come to an end on June 30th.
In the meanwhile...
Happy Hunting!!
Image Sets Available
Image sets from June 25, 26, and 27 are available at the IASC home site. (iasc.hsutx.edu). Check your school folder!!
The Moon remains bright and will be for another couple of days. During this time the brighter NEOs away from the Moon can be found and measured. It is difficult, however, to find any faint Main Belt asteroid discoveries.
The current campaigns, All-India Asteroid Search Campaign and Internatinoal Asteroid Search Campaign, come to an end on June 30th.
In the meanwhile...
Happy Hunting!!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Full Moon on June 26th
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Full Moon on June 26th
In two days the Moon will be full. This makes the sky too bright to detect faint asteroid discoveries and conduct faint near-Earth object (NEO) measurements. Sometimes during a full Moon the ARI Observatory will take images of the brighter NEOs that are far enough away from the Moon to be seen, but for the most part, image sets are not available three days before and three days after a full Moon.
Image Sets from June 20 & 23
Image sets from June 20th and 23rd are available in some of the school folders. Check your folders. When the Moon wanes in the coming week, new image sets will be available and uploaded immediately into the school folders.
Full Moon on June 26th
In two days the Moon will be full. This makes the sky too bright to detect faint asteroid discoveries and conduct faint near-Earth object (NEO) measurements. Sometimes during a full Moon the ARI Observatory will take images of the brighter NEOs that are far enough away from the Moon to be seen, but for the most part, image sets are not available three days before and three days after a full Moon.
Image Sets from June 20 & 23
Image sets from June 20th and 23rd are available in some of the school folders. Check your folders. When the Moon wanes in the coming week, new image sets will be available and uploaded immediately into the school folders.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
NEO Confirmations & MBA Follow-Ups
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
NEO Confirmations & MBA Follow-Ups
Congratulations to B. Collins, IASC Volunteer from the United States. He has two NEO confirmations, 2010 LA64 on June 14th and 2010 MH1 on June 19th. Also on June 19th, the NEO 2010 MF1 was confirmed by Stoyanova,Marinov, Ivanova, & Marinova from Vaptzarov Language School in Bulgaria. Great Job!!
Several Main Belt asteroid (MBA) discoveries are being followed-up. Remember to complete the discovery process not only must your students make the original observation but the discovery must be confirmed in a follow-up image taken no less than 7 days later. If the follow-up is not successful then the discovery is considered lost.
If the current follow-ups are successful and the discovery process is completed, you will be notified. Stayed tuned and keep your fingers crossed!!
Image Sets Available
Image sets from June 19th and June 20th are available in the school folders. There are no new sets from June 21st or 22nd. Hopefully new sets will be available on June 23th. If so, they will be uploaded immediately into the school folders. Keep a watch on your folder.
In the meanwhile...
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
NEO Confirmations & MBA Follow-Ups
Congratulations to B. Collins, IASC Volunteer from the United States. He has two NEO confirmations, 2010 LA64 on June 14th and 2010 MH1 on June 19th. Also on June 19th, the NEO 2010 MF1 was confirmed by Stoyanova,Marinov, Ivanova, & Marinova from Vaptzarov Language School in Bulgaria. Great Job!!
Several Main Belt asteroid (MBA) discoveries are being followed-up. Remember to complete the discovery process not only must your students make the original observation but the discovery must be confirmed in a follow-up image taken no less than 7 days later. If the follow-up is not successful then the discovery is considered lost.
If the current follow-ups are successful and the discovery process is completed, you will be notified. Stayed tuned and keep your fingers crossed!!
Image Sets Available
Image sets from June 19th and June 20th are available in the school folders. There are no new sets from June 21st or 22nd. Hopefully new sets will be available on June 23th. If so, they will be uploaded immediately into the school folders. Keep a watch on your folder.
In the meanwhile...
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Updates - NEO Confirmations on june 19th
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
NEO Confirmations!!
Congratulations are in order.
*
On June 16th the three students Dahiya, Mann, & Batra from Dehli Public School, Sonepat (India) made the NEO confirmation of 2010 MB.
*
On June 17th Penhor & Carvalho from the Instituto Superior Politécnico (Sao Tome) confirmed 2010 MQ. This is the second confirmation by these two students.
*
Finally, on June 17th Nedelchev & Radeva from Varna High School of Natural Sciences (Bulgaria) confirmed 2010 MC.
NEO Confirmations!!
Congratulations are in order.
*
On June 16th the three students Dahiya, Mann, & Batra from Dehli Public School, Sonepat (India) made the NEO confirmation of 2010 MB.
*
On June 17th Penhor & Carvalho from the Instituto Superior Politécnico (Sao Tome) confirmed 2010 MQ. This is the second confirmation by these two students.
*
Finally, on June 17th Nedelchev & Radeva from Varna High School of Natural Sciences (Bulgaria) confirmed 2010 MC.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Update from Patrick Miller - June 17th
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Image Sets Available
Image sets from June 14, 16, & 17 are available in some of the school folders. More sets from June 17th will be uploaded later today.
The skies are partly cloudy at the ARI Observatory and will stay that way for the remainder of the week. As breaks in the weather appear, the Observatory will be taking NEO images. When they become available, they will be immediately uploaded into the school folders. Keep a watch on your folder!!
Remember, the image sets are uploaded in order. This means if your school does not currently have an image set to analyze, be patient. You are next in line and will receive one of the new sets.
Everyone is doing an excellent job measuring NEOs and making an occasional NEO confirmation. Two weeks remain in the current campaigns, so it is still possible to make a Main Belt asteroid discovery. The Main Belt asteroids are located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter at a distance of 2-4 times the distance Earth is from the Sun.
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Image Sets Available
Image sets from June 14, 16, & 17 are available in some of the school folders. More sets from June 17th will be uploaded later today.
The skies are partly cloudy at the ARI Observatory and will stay that way for the remainder of the week. As breaks in the weather appear, the Observatory will be taking NEO images. When they become available, they will be immediately uploaded into the school folders. Keep a watch on your folder!!
Remember, the image sets are uploaded in order. This means if your school does not currently have an image set to analyze, be patient. You are next in line and will receive one of the new sets.
Everyone is doing an excellent job measuring NEOs and making an occasional NEO confirmation. Two weeks remain in the current campaigns, so it is still possible to make a Main Belt asteroid discovery. The Main Belt asteroids are located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter at a distance of 2-4 times the distance Earth is from the Sun.
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Update from Patrick Miller on June 15th
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Rain at the Observatory
Rain storms at the ARI Observatory have delayed image sets from last night. The weather forecast predicts that Wednesday and Thursday nights may be clear enough for new image sets. Keep an eye on your folder, just in case.
Discoveries & Observations Page
The Discoveries & Observations page at the IASC home site (iasc.hsutx.edu) has been updated. Check it out. There are many new NEO observations to report. There have been 6 NEO confirmations and almost 90 NEO observations. Congratulations to all of you!!
When new image sets are available, they will be uploaded immediately into the school folders. In the meanwhile...
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Rain at the Observatory
Rain storms at the ARI Observatory have delayed image sets from last night. The weather forecast predicts that Wednesday and Thursday nights may be clear enough for new image sets. Keep an eye on your folder, just in case.
Discoveries & Observations Page
The Discoveries & Observations page at the IASC home site (iasc.hsutx.edu) has been updated. Check it out. There are many new NEO observations to report. There have been 6 NEO confirmations and almost 90 NEO observations. Congratulations to all of you!!
When new image sets are available, they will be uploaded immediately into the school folders. In the meanwhile...
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Monday, June 14, 2010
New NEO confirmations
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Congratulations are in order...
Congratulations go to Chawla, Saini, Aggarwal, Bansal, & Chopra for the NEO confirmation of 2010 LM34 on June 10th. These five students are from Bal Bharti Public School, Rajinder Naga (India). Good job!!
Also on June 10th, Toshkov, Mircheva, Ivanova, Stoyanova, & Marinova from Vaptzarov Language School (Bulgaria) observed a comet, 2008 N1.
The following are the NEO confirmations made to date in the current IASC search campaigns:
Object
2010 JF87 Sanyal & Milind Gyan Bharti, Saket India 05/15/10
2010 KA8 Jain, Aggarwal, Gupta, Gill, Mittal, & Mehta Amity International School, Saket, India 05/20/10
2010 KJ37 Penhor & Carvalho Instituto Superior Politécnico Sao Tome 05/23/10
2010 KB61 N. Gupta Indirpauram School India 06/01/10
2010 LN14 Singh, Kumar, Chaterjee, & Gari Greenway Modern School, Dilshad Garden India 06/07/10
2010 LM34 Chawla, Saini, Aggarwal, Bansal, & Chopra Bal Bharti Public School, Rajinder Nagar, India 06/10/10
The Discoveries & Observations page on the IASC home page will be updated later today. In addition to these important confirmations, there are many new NEO observations to report.
Congratulations are in order...
Congratulations go to Chawla, Saini, Aggarwal, Bansal, & Chopra for the NEO confirmation of 2010 LM34 on June 10th. These five students are from Bal Bharti Public School, Rajinder Naga (India). Good job!!
Also on June 10th, Toshkov, Mircheva, Ivanova, Stoyanova, & Marinova from Vaptzarov Language School (Bulgaria) observed a comet, 2008 N1.
The following are the NEO confirmations made to date in the current IASC search campaigns:
Object
2010 JF87 Sanyal & Milind Gyan Bharti, Saket India 05/15/10
2010 KA8 Jain, Aggarwal, Gupta, Gill, Mittal, & Mehta Amity International School, Saket, India 05/20/10
2010 KJ37 Penhor & Carvalho Instituto Superior Politécnico Sao Tome 05/23/10
2010 KB61 N. Gupta Indirpauram School India 06/01/10
2010 LN14 Singh, Kumar, Chaterjee, & Gari Greenway Modern School, Dilshad Garden India 06/07/10
2010 LM34 Chawla, Saini, Aggarwal, Bansal, & Chopra Bal Bharti Public School, Rajinder Nagar, India 06/10/10
The Discoveries & Observations page on the IASC home page will be updated later today. In addition to these important confirmations, there are many new NEO observations to report.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Phase -2 Selections
The following have been selected by SPACE to participate in the ALL India Asteroid Search Campaign - Phase I from July 1st - August 13th
CONGRATULATIONS!
Selected Coordinators/teachers will have to attend the Training workshop. Details will be sent soon.
GOOD LUCK WITH ASTEROID HUNTING!
Individual Mails with details of the workshop have been sent to the nominated coordinators.
For details please contact Jaishree at aiasc@space-india.org
Selected Participants
Birla Vidya Niketan, Pushp Vihar
Coordinator
Ms. Anupama Sawalani
Samrath Chawla
Saksham Gupta
Shray Jain
Aman Khullar
Devansh Bhargava
St. Mary's school, Dwarka, Delhi
Coordinator
Ms. Ritu Bhatia
Ishita Jain
Sakshi Gaurkhede
Varun Singh Lodhi
Samrath Bhardwaj
S.Srikant
Ryan International School, Rohini
Coordinator
Ms. Sadhana Walia
Amanjot Singh
Dishant
Sahil Wadhwa
Shantam Goyal
Shubham Lakra
Bal Bharti Public School, Brij Vihar, Ghaziabad
Coordinator
Mrs. Neetu Singh
Moksh Nair
Surbhi Khanna
Kriti Tripathi
Ishan Wadhwa
Drishti Ohri
Apeejay School, Pitampura
Coordinator
Mrs. Kiran Nayak
Anmol Sharma
Garvit Jain
Ashmita Khurana
Kriti Khatri
Himanshu Sukhpal
Bal Bharati Public School, Pitampura
Coordinator
Ms. Deepti Kamboj
Rushil Batra
Karan Grover
Shubham Chadha
Prasoon Varshney
Aneesh Sahni
Shri Natesan Vidyasala Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai
Coordinator
Mrs. Anandhi Mani
S.Subramanian
P.Pragatheesh Prabhu
V.Srivathsan
R. Aadithya,
Selvi V.Praveni
Delhi Public School, Ruby Park, Kolkata
Coordinator
Ms. Akulina Kar
Rajjeshwar Ganguly
YashvardhanThirani
MD. Akib Masud
Ankit Pati
Dhanajay Chowdhary
Delhi Public School, Megacity,Kolkata
Coordinator
Mr. Rajarshi Dasgupta
Abhiroop Pakhrashi
Prateeksha Signotia
Aditi Jaiswal
Sayan Saha
Shounak Sarkar
Apeejay School, Kolkata
Coordinators
Ms. Bhavani Ravi Shankar, Ms. Ranu Dutta
Eshna Banerjee
S. Suryakantan
Bhanu Garg
Ashwariya
Bhavya Sharma
The Hyderabad Public School, Hyderabad
Coordinator
N.B. Lakshmi
Anant Krishna
Pradyot
Vedant Aggarwal
J.Easha
Nihal
St. Joseph Public School, Hyderabad
Coordinator
Gayatri
Ch. Vishal Anand
L.N.P.Vaishnavi
B.S.K. Alekhya
G.Raja Vighnesh
P.Prerna Naidu
P.Obul Reddy Public School, Hyderabad
Coordinator
laletha
J. Khyaati Suri
N.V. Sai Prabhu
Prateek Sharma
B.Adila Reddy
D.Aditya
Meridian school, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad
Coordinator
Dhanuja
Navneet K
Sree Hari Raju
Puneet
Sanket Gora
Adidev
DAV Public School, Hyderabad
Coordinator
Naveena Ch.
Ananthram.G S
Arun .K.L.S
Lavanya T.R
Bhavya Reddy G
Preetham .D
Meridian ( Madhapur), Hyderabad
Coordinator
Sharadha
Sidharth Reddy.B
G. Vyshnavi
Goutham Edara
Vivek Edara
K.Naga Alekhya
Jubilee Hills Public School, Hyderabad
Coordinator
B.Bharathi
Harshendra,
Kapil.D,
Mayank,
Swechha,
Anusha
The Jain International School, Hyderabad
Coordinator
T.Indira
G.V. Vaistha
Trishi Agarwal
Kovela
Gopal Gupta
Nishita
DAV Public School, Safilguda, Hyderabad
Coordinator
Supriya
P.Ridhi
P.Somayajulu
H.Adarsh
Aditi Sinha
Darshna Devarajan
Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur, Hyderabad
Coordinator
Digamber Singh
Gautam sharma
Sai Nishita
Vrinda Gahalaut
Ankit Rastogi
Durga Sai Srikar
Astronomica, Delhi
Coordinator
Chander devgun
Namit Jindal
Srijan Devgun
Megha Arora
Praful
Suvriti Dhawan
SPACE Club Beta, Delhi
Coordinator
Mila Mitra
Shruti
Ayush
Esha Datanwala
Arun Rama
Arjun Nair
Nehru Planetarium, Delhi
Coordinator
Dr. Rathnasree
Mahinder Jain
O P Gupta
Rajesh Harsh
Balachandran
Anees Siddiqui
Bhaskaracharya Astro Research Centre, Ahmednagar
Coordinator
Dinesh nisang
Gore Parag
Kulkarni Pushkar
Jawale Yash
Sonawane Sudhendra
Darade Pranav
SPACE 1, Delhi
Coordinator
Rishabh Jain
Sneh Kesari
Jagriti Saxena
Gurmeet Kaur
Preshanth Jagannathan
SPACE 2, Delhi
Coordinator
Vikrant Narang
Pooja Kumar
Tanmay Paranjape
Priyanka Srivastava
SPACE club Gamma, Delhi
Coordinator
Mila Mitra
Ishant Arora
Neelesh Pattanayak
Mohit Mehlawat
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Updates - NEO Confirmations
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
NEO Confirmations
Congratulations are in order. On June 1st, N. Gupta from Indirpauram School (India) confirmed the near-Earth object 2010 KB61. And, on June 7th, V. Singh from Greeway Modern School, Dilshad Garden (India) confirmed 2010 LN14. Congratulations! Good job!!
A confirmation is the second observation of a recently-discovered NEO. With the second observation the Minor Planet Center is uncertain that the NEO really exists. The second observation confirms it and better establishes the orbit for future obseration and risk assessment of impacting Earth.
Cloudy Skies at ARI Observatory
The skies are overcast at the ARI Observatory due to thunderstorms. The only image sets currently available in the school folders are dated June 7th. There are no new images from June 8th.
The weather forecast shows that this is going to be a problem until Thursday when the skies may clear enough for more NEO targets to be imaged at the Observatory.
This is all part of astronomy..."hurry up and wait." Please be patient. When image sets are available they will uploaded into the school folders.
NEO Confirmations
Congratulations are in order. On June 1st, N. Gupta from Indirpauram School (India) confirmed the near-Earth object 2010 KB61. And, on June 7th, V. Singh from Greeway Modern School, Dilshad Garden (India) confirmed 2010 LN14. Congratulations! Good job!!
A confirmation is the second observation of a recently-discovered NEO. With the second observation the Minor Planet Center is uncertain that the NEO really exists. The second observation confirms it and better establishes the orbit for future obseration and risk assessment of impacting Earth.
Cloudy Skies at ARI Observatory
The skies are overcast at the ARI Observatory due to thunderstorms. The only image sets currently available in the school folders are dated June 7th. There are no new images from June 8th.
The weather forecast shows that this is going to be a problem until Thursday when the skies may clear enough for more NEO targets to be imaged at the Observatory.
This is all part of astronomy..."hurry up and wait." Please be patient. When image sets are available they will uploaded into the school folders.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Update from Patrick Miller - Trouble with the Star Catalog
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
posted by Patrick Miller on June 6th, 2010
Trouble with the Star Catalog
From time to time the server that provides the star catalog information to Astrometrica is not available. There are actually 7 differrent miror sites to select from, one of which is usually working. If you have had the problem:
Error: No Reference Star Records read.
Data reduction aborted!
you can easily fix this problem by doing the following:
1. Click on settings (green wrench icon)
2. Click on Internet panel
3. Select ADAC, Tokyo, Japan on the Vizier Server
4. Click Save
5. Click OK
This changes to the star catalog to Japan. That site is currently active. You will need to do this for both the 24" and 32" configuration files.
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
posted by Patrick Miller on June 6th, 2010
Trouble with the Star Catalog
From time to time the server that provides the star catalog information to Astrometrica is not available. There are actually 7 differrent miror sites to select from, one of which is usually working. If you have had the problem:
Error: No Reference Star Records read.
Data reduction aborted!
you can easily fix this problem by doing the following:
1. Click on settings (green wrench icon)
2. Click on Internet panel
3. Select ADAC, Tokyo, Japan on the Vizier Server
4. Click Save
5. Click OK
This changes to the star catalog to Japan. That site is currently active. You will need to do this for both the 24" and 32" configuration files.
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Friday, June 4, 2010
Update from Dr. Patrick Miller - June 4th
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Lots of Image Sets Available
There are two image sets in each of the school folders. Some of you already have three. More image sets from June 4th will be upladed later today.
Check your folder!!
Purpose of ARI Image Sets
The image sets that your students analyze are taken by the ARI Observatory (Westfield, IL). The Observatory has a contract with NASA to do follow-ups of near-Earth Objects, as part of the Near-Earth Object Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA).
Each image set has an NEO target, probably located close to the center. The NEO target is a previously-discovered object, usually discovered in the past few days but sometimes years in the past. You need to measure the target as this provides information that NASA needs to better predict the orbit. After you have done this measurement then you look around the rest of the image for any undiscovered asteroids.
Usuallly these undiscovered asteroids reside in the Main Belt, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. If your students make a discovery then IASC has to complete the follow-up process for you.
The Minor Planet Center requires than any Main Belt asteroid discovery be re-imaged within 7-days of the discovery. This is called the "follow-up process". If the follow-up process is not completed the discovery is considered lost.
Most of the measurements that your students are reporting as asteroid discoveries are, in fact, false signatures. Students tend to click on anything that moves in an image set, but not all that appears to be moving are asteroids. They are usually artifacts (bad or hot pixels) in the image that need to be ignored.
On average students will find a new asteroid once every fourth or fifth image set...and not in every set.
In the meanwhile, check your folder, and...
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Lots of Image Sets Available
There are two image sets in each of the school folders. Some of you already have three. More image sets from June 4th will be upladed later today.
Check your folder!!
Purpose of ARI Image Sets
The image sets that your students analyze are taken by the ARI Observatory (Westfield, IL). The Observatory has a contract with NASA to do follow-ups of near-Earth Objects, as part of the Near-Earth Object Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA).
Each image set has an NEO target, probably located close to the center. The NEO target is a previously-discovered object, usually discovered in the past few days but sometimes years in the past. You need to measure the target as this provides information that NASA needs to better predict the orbit. After you have done this measurement then you look around the rest of the image for any undiscovered asteroids.
Usuallly these undiscovered asteroids reside in the Main Belt, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. If your students make a discovery then IASC has to complete the follow-up process for you.
The Minor Planet Center requires than any Main Belt asteroid discovery be re-imaged within 7-days of the discovery. This is called the "follow-up process". If the follow-up process is not completed the discovery is considered lost.
Most of the measurements that your students are reporting as asteroid discoveries are, in fact, false signatures. Students tend to click on anything that moves in an image set, but not all that appears to be moving are asteroids. They are usually artifacts (bad or hot pixels) in the image that need to be ignored.
On average students will find a new asteroid once every fourth or fifth image set...and not in every set.
In the meanwhile, check your folder, and...
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Update - Image Sets in all folders
Update from Dr. Patrick Miller on June 3rd, 2010 -
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Check your folder!!
Image sets are now uploaded and available in all of the school folders.
The skies are dark and clear at the ARI Observatory. The Internet problems are resolved. If the weather holds, new image sets will continue to be available.
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Check your folder!!
Image sets are now uploaded and available in all of the school folders.
The skies are dark and clear at the ARI Observatory. The Internet problems are resolved. If the weather holds, new image sets will continue to be available.
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
AIASC - Image sets becoming available -PLEASE CHECK!
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Image Sets Becoming Available
Image sets from June 1st and June 2nd are becoming available in the school folders. It will take another day before all of the folders will have an image set. So, be patient. Within the next few days, everyone will have at least two or more sets to analyze.
Discoveries & Observations Page
The IASC discoveries and observations page is located at http://iasc.hsutx.edu/index_files/Page786.htm . This is where you will find the listing of all near-Earth object (NEO) observations and confirmations. So far there have not been any Main Belt asteroid (MBA) discoveries during the current search campaigns, but there are discoveries lurking in the image sets.
As sets become available in your school folder, check them carefully. Your students may find some new asteroids.
For a discovery to be complete, there must be a second image set (called the follow-up) taken within 7 days of the date of the discovery. IASC handles the follow-ups in two ways:
1. Relies upon the sky surveys to pick up the asteroid discovery, and
2. Uses the 24" telescope at the Sierra Stars Observatory Network to take the second image set.
Even though your students may make a discovery, it will not be recognized by the Minor Planet Center (Harvard) until the follow-up process is completed. When it is completed and the discovery is recognized then you are notified of your students' discovery.
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Email by Dr. Patrick Miller on Wed, Jun 2, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Image Sets Becoming Available
Image sets from June 1st and June 2nd are becoming available in the school folders. It will take another day before all of the folders will have an image set. So, be patient. Within the next few days, everyone will have at least two or more sets to analyze.
Discoveries & Observations Page
The IASC discoveries and observations page is located at http://iasc.hsutx.edu/index_
As sets become available in your school folder, check them carefully. Your students may find some new asteroids.
For a discovery to be complete, there must be a second image set (called the follow-up) taken within 7 days of the date of the discovery. IASC handles the follow-ups in two ways:
1. Relies upon the sky surveys to pick up the asteroid discovery, and
2. Uses the 24" telescope at the Sierra Stars Observatory Network to take the second image set.
Even though your students may make a discovery, it will not be recognized by the Minor Planet Center (Harvard) until the follow-up process is completed. When it is completed and the discovery is recognized then you are notified of your students' discovery.
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Email by Dr. Patrick Miller on Wed, Jun 2, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Image Sets will Soon be Available!!!!
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
The skies at the ARI Observatory are clear and dark. The Internet is repaired. Image sets should be available later today. Check your folder!!
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
The skies at the ARI Observatory are clear and dark. The Internet is repaired. Image sets should be available later today. Check your folder!!
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
IASC Update - from Patrick Miller, May 31st
Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Thunderstorms at the ARI Observatory
The full Moon has finally waned to the point that image sets can be taken once again at the ARI Observatory.
However, intense thunderstorms over the past days damaged the Internet connection at the Observatory. Technicians from the Internet service provider have been called, and will soon repair the service so that image sets can be uploaded into the school folders.
When the technicians repair the service, image sets will again be available for all of the participating schools. Please be patient.
MPC Reports
Each school should only be sending in one MPC report per target. In some cases 5 or 6 reports have been sent. Instead of sending 5 or 6, combine the reports into a single report, and include all 5 or 6 student names in the MEA field on the report. MEA stands for "measurer."
To help you understand the terms, 2010 GA34-0526-24 means the NEO target is 2010 GA34. 0526 is the date May 26th and 24 is the telescope used (either 24" or 32"). Only one report must be prepared for this image set (i.e., target).
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
Thunderstorms at the ARI Observatory
The full Moon has finally waned to the point that image sets can be taken once again at the ARI Observatory.
However, intense thunderstorms over the past days damaged the Internet connection at the Observatory. Technicians from the Internet service provider have been called, and will soon repair the service so that image sets can be uploaded into the school folders.
When the technicians repair the service, image sets will again be available for all of the participating schools. Please be patient.
MPC Reports
Each school should only be sending in one MPC report per target. In some cases 5 or 6 reports have been sent. Instead of sending 5 or 6, combine the reports into a single report, and include all 5 or 6 student names in the MEA field on the report. MEA stands for "measurer."
To help you understand the terms, 2010 GA34-0526-24 means the NEO target is 2010 GA34. 0526 is the date May 26th and 24 is the telescope used (either 24" or 32"). Only one report must be prepared for this image set (i.e., target).
Happy Hunting!!
Dr. Patrick Miller
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