PLEASE NOTE:
*
CCNet DIGEST, 16 April 1999
---------------------------
POEM OF THE DAY
Kindly submitted by Ian Giblin <giblin@panix.com>
ON MAKING CERTAIN ANYTHING HAS HAPPENED
I could be worse employed
Than as a watcher of the void,
Whose part should be to tell
What star if any fell.
Suppose some seed-pearl sun
Should be the only one;
Yet still I must report
Some cluster one star short.
I should justly hesitate
To frighten church or state
By announcing a star down
From, say, the Cross or Crown.
To make sure what star I missed
I should have to check on my list
Every star in sight.
It might take me all night.
(Robert Frost)
(1) ASTEROID POSES LITTLE DANGER TO EARTH IN NEAR FUTURE
SpaceViews. The online publication of space
exploration
(2) SURPRISE 1998 LEONID DISPLAY WAS A LARGE BLAST FROM THE PAST
Jacqueline Mitton <jmitton@dial.pipex.com>
(3) NEW SOLAR SYSTEM DISCOVERED
BBC Online Network, 15 April
(4) SPIN VECTOR EVOLUTION OF INNER SOLAR SYSTEM ASTEROIDS
E. Skoglov, ASTRONONOMICAL OBSERVATORY UPPSALA
(5) RADAR OBSERVATIONS OF COMETS
P. Kamoun et al., AEROSP.
(6) PROSPECTS IN ASTROMETRY & ORBITAL DETERMINATION OF MINOR
BODIES
M. Carpino, OSSERV ASTRON BRERA
(7) STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF METEORS
D.D. Meisel, J.E. Richardson, SUNY COLL
GENESEO
(8) COMETARY ORIGIN OF SEAWATER
A.H. Delsemme, UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO
(9) RADAR OBSERVATIONS OF THE PERSEID METEOR STREAM
M. Simek*), P. Pecina, ASTRONOMICAL INSTITUTE
=================
(1) ASTEROID POSES LITTLE DANGER TO EARTH IN NEAR FUTURE
From SpaceViews. The online publication of space exploration
http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/04/15b.html
15 April 1999
A newly-discovered near-Earth asteroid that has a infinitesimal
but
non-zero possibility of impacting the Earth in 40 years is little
danger now, but could be a hazard to the Earth for centuries to
come.
Asteroid 1999 AN10 sparked a minor controversy this week in the
astronomical community when the moderator of a electronic mailing
list
about near-Earth asteroids found a preprint of a research article
that
indicated a small possibility of an impact by the asteroid in
2039.
The Italian astronomers found that, under a very strict set of
circumstances, the asteroid could hit the Earth in August 2039,
after a
close approach 12 years earlier. However, the astronomers at the
University of Pisa found that the probability of such an event
was just
one in a billion. By comparison, the probability that the Earth
will be
struck by an undiscovered kilometer-sized object within the next
year is only one in 100,000.
Astronomers involved in near-Earth asteroid research criticized
the
early announcement, although the paper was publically accessible
on the
authors' Web site. They noted that the research was preliminary
and was
in the process of being peer-reviewed, and thus even the remote
possibility of an impact may prove incorrect.
In a message to the "Cambridge Conference" mailing list
where the
research was announced, Brian Marsden of the Minor Planets Center
at
the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics noted that while
two
other efforts had reproduced the general orbit of the asteroid,
"as far
as I am aware, nobody has reproduced the 2039 impact."
Astronomers also rejected claims that the work, and discussion of
it,
were under a voluntary or externally-imposed veil of secrecy.
"The
'1999 AN10 Affair' is nothing more than the scientific peer
review process at work," commented Richard Binzel of MIT.
"The
timescales involved require no immediate action, hence the weeks
(or
even months) required for the scientific review process to
proceed is
of no consequence."
Still, Benny Peiser, the British academic who moderates the
Cambridge
Conference list and first mentioned the 1999 AN10 paper, is
concerned
that the events of March 1998 -- when asteroid 1997 XF11 was
reported
to have a possibility of striking the Earth in 2029, only to have
that
possibility disappear a day later when new data was available
-- may be hindering the discussion of this asteroid.
Peiser called for a discussion focused on an "international
procedure
of how future impact risk calculations (and their inherent
uncertainties!) should be reported in a satisfactory way."
Much of the uncertainly lies in the limited quality of the orbit
of the
asteroid, based on only data collected when the asteroid was
discovered
early this year by the LINEAR telescope in New Mexico. No
pre-discovery
images of the asteroid have been found elsewhere, and the
asteroid is
currently obscured by the Sun until June.
While new orbits computed from June and future observations will
resolve the question of any possibility of an impact in 2039,
1999 AN10
will bear watching for many years to come. The Italian
astronomers who
noted the remote possibility of a 2039 impact found that it will
be a
potentially hazardous asteroid, passing close to the Earth
numerous
times, for about 600 years. "This implies that this asteroid
shall have
to be monitored, by observations and computations, for a very
long
time," they noted.
Copyright 1999, SpaceViews
========================
(2) SURPRISE 1998 LEONID DISPLAY WAS A LARGE BLAST FROM THE PAST
From Jacqueline Mitton <jmitton@dial.pipex.com>
ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
PRESS NOTICE
Date: 15 April 1999
For immediate release
Ref. PN 99/09
Issued by:
Dr Jacqueline Mitton
RAS Press Officer
Office & home phone: Cambridge ((0)1223) 564914
FAX: Cambridge ((0)1223) 572892
E-mail: jmitton@dial.pipex.com
RAS Web: http://www.ras.org.uk/ras/
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CONTACTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS RELEASE:
Dr David Asher, Armagh Observatory
Phone: (0)1861-522928; Fax: (0)1861-527174; e-mail: dja@star..arm.ac.uk
Prof. Mark Bailey, Armagh Observatory
Phone: (0)1861-522928; Fax: (0)1861-527174; e-mail: meb@star.arm.ac.uk
Mr John McFarland, Armagh Observatory (Public Relations Officer)
Phone: (0)1861-522928; Fax: (0)1861-527174; e-mail: jmf@star.arm.ac.uk
Professor Vacheslav Emel'yanenko, South Ural University,
Chelyabinsk, Russia
Phone: 007 3512 399291; Fax 007 3512 655950;
E-mail: emel@termeh.tu-chel.ac.ru
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SURPRISE 1998 LEONID DISPLAY WAS A LARGE BLAST FROM THE PAST
In the early hours of 17th November last year (1998), meteor
watchers
awaiting the Leonid shower were taken by surprise when a
spectacular
display of bright meteors occurred 16 hours before the predicted
time
for the maximum of the shower. The explanation has now been
uncovered
as a result of research by Dr David Asher and Professor Mark
Bailey, of
Armagh Observatory, and Professor Vacheslav Emel'yanenko, of
South Ural
University, Chelyabinsk, Russia. They have shown that the bright
meteors were seen when Earth passed through a dense arc-shaped
cloud of
particles shed from Comet Tempel-Tuttle in the year 1333. By
matching
theory and observation, Dr Asher and colleagues have proved for
the
first time that meteoroid streams associated with Halley-like
comets
have complex braid-like structures within them. This work points
the
way to more precise predictions of the timing and intensity of
meteor
showers in the future. These results are reported in the
21st April
1999 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society.
The Leonid meteor shower occurs between 15 and 21 November each
year,
with peak activity on the night of the 17/18 November. These
meteors
are produced when small dust particles ejected from Comet
Tempel-Tuttle
enter the Earth's atmosphere at high speed and burn up. Comet
Tempel-Tuttle moves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit taking
approximately 33 years for a complete revolution. Its orbit is
similar
to that of Halley's Comet, and so Comet Tempel-Tuttle is
classified as
a Halley-type short-period comet. Owing to the large angle
between the
Earth's orbit and the comet's (162 degrees), the dust grains
collide
almost head-on with the Earth, and hit the atmosphere at about 71
kilometres per second. At this speed, a one-centimetre particle
carries the same amount of energy as a speeding truck on a
motorway.
Every 33 years or so, when Comet Tempel-Tuttle passes near to the
Earth, the intensity of the Leonid display is greatly enhanced
because
the stream of dust grains is more densely packed close to the
comet.
Meteor 'storms' have been seen many times during the past
thousand
years, notable events being those of 1799, 1833, 1866 and 1966.
The
earliest record of Leonid meteors dates back to the year 899.
November 1998 saw astronomers preparing for a possible meteor
storm
during the night of 17/18 November. Although a moderately strong
peak
was observed as predicted, the meteor shower as a whole was
dominated
by the appearance of hundreds of exceptionally bright meteors,
known as
fireballs, more than 16 hours ahead of the predicted peak.
The intensity and duration of this exceptional event indicated
that the
Earth must have passed through an extremely dense, narrow stream
of
large dust grains and particles, having sizes ranging up to
several
centimetres. The timing suggested that these particles occupied
an
orbit somewhat different from the main stream of small grains,
and that
they left the comet's nucleus many hundreds of years ago. But in
that
case, it is necessary to explain why the stream has held together
so
tightly for so long.
To solve the problem, Dr David Asher and his co-workers
calculated the
motion of large dust grains ejected from the comet at each of the
last
42 occasions when it made its closest approach to the Sun.
(Comets
release very little dust, if any, when they are far from the
Sun's
heat.) They checked each case to see whether any of the particles
could
explain the fireballs seen in 1998, and identified September 1333
as
the time when most of the observed particles were released. These
particles did not spread out in space because of a dynamical
process
known as a resonance. (A similar process gives rise to the fine
structure seen in Saturn's rings.)
Many comets and asteroids swing around the Sun in orbits that are
simple multiples of the orbital period of Jupiter, the most
massive
planet in the solar system and the biggest disturbing influence
on
cometary orbits. Comet Tempel-Tuttle is no exception to this
rule,
having entered one of these 'resonant' orbits as long ago as the
seventh century AD. For every fourteen revolutions of Jupiter,
Comet
Tempel-Tuttle makes five, and the same relation holds true for
the
largest dust particles gently released by the comet.
The large grains therefore have average orbital periods very
close to
that of the comet, and are kept in step by the influence of
Jupiter.
Instead of spreading around the whole orbit, they occupy a rather
short
arc, leading to the formation of a dense strand of large
particles,
distinct from the 'normal' storm strands of small particles,
ahead of
and behind the comet. The structure of the meteoroid stream close
to
the comet can be visualized as rather like a telephone wire, made
up of
many separate, narrow strands. These form a complex, braided
structure
of material within the broader, ribbon-like meteoroid stream.
The calculations by David Asher and co-workers showed that in
November
1998 most of the resonant arcs missed the Earth by a wide margin,
but
the arc of particles released in 1333 cut right through the
Earth's
orbit, and the calculated time for when this happened matched the
observed fireball maximum to the hour.
This remarkable result is the first observational demonstration
of one
of the most important dynamical features of meteoroid streams
associated with Halley-type short-period comets. The work
highlights
the presence of fine structure *within* meteoroid streams, and
suggests
important new avenues for research. For example, by observing the
variations in meteor rates close to the peak of a shower it may
be
possible to infer the precise distribution in space of the
meteor-producing strands. Variations in meteor rates may be
correlated
with changes in the meteor brightness distribution to infer the
history
of mass loss by a comet over many revolutions around the Sun.
The researchers are not expecting a repeat performance of bright
fireballs in November this year (1999). All the resonant strands
in the
meteoroid stream will be well past Earth in space. However, a
strong
'normal' display is likely, peaking at about 2 a.m. on November
18th,
due to meteoroids ejected from Comet Tempel-Tuttle in the years
1866,
1899 and 1932, which have not yet had time to disperse around the
comet's orbit.
=============
(3) NEW SOLAR SYSTEM DISCOVERED
From the BBC Online Network, 15 April
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_319000/319865.stm
By BBC News Online Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse
Astronomers have discovered the first solar system other than our
own.
It has three planets orbiting a star that is 44 light years away.
The discovery of a group of planets orbiting a sun like our own
will
cause great excitement and raises the chances that there may be
other
forms of life in the Universe.
"It is one of the most important astronomical discoveries
for decades,"
Professor Geoff Marcy, one of the discoverers of the system, told
BBC
News Online.
The star concerned is called Upsilon Andromedae. Although it is
four
hundred thousand billion kilometres from Earth, it is easily
visible to
the unaided eye in the night sky.
FULL STORT at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_319000/319865.stm
===========
(4) SPIN VECTOR EVOLUTION OF INNER SOLAR SYSTEM ASTEROIDS
E. Skoglov: Spin vector evolution for inner solar system
asteroids.
PLANETARY AND SPACE SCIENCE, 1999, Vol.47, No.1-2, pp.11-22
*) ASTRONONOMICAL OBSERVATORY,BOX 515,S-75120 UPPSALA,SWEDEN
The spin vector evolution of 30 asteroids in the inner solar
system is
investigated using 10 different orbital integrations for each
object,
since the orbital evolutions are chaotic for all the objects
examined.
Close encounters with major planets and resonances involving
Jupiter,
the Earth or Venus are common. Frequency-related zones, chaotic
or
non-chaotic, can be found for all the spin integrations for most
of the
objects. The positions and properties of these zones are in most
cases
rather independent of which of the 10 orbital integrations is
used. The
asteroids can be classed according to orbital behaviour, and it
is
found that the frequency-related zones for objects belonging to
certain
classes have common properties. The frequency analysis shows that
the
power spectra of most objects are dominated by frequencies in the
range
[-60, -20]''/yr. A statistical analysis showed no tendencies to a
drift to a more prograde or retrograde distribution of spin
vectors.
There were, however, clear tendencies for some spin vector
directions
to be more probable than others during the time period examined.
In
particular highly retrograde spins seem to be more probable than
slightly retrograde ones. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights
reserved.
=======================
(5) RADAR OBSERVATIONS OF COMETS
P. Kamoun*), D. Campbell, G. Pettengill, I. Shapiro: Radar
observations
of three comets and detection of echoes from one:
P/Grigg-Skjellerup
PLANETARY AND SPACE SCIENCE, 1999, Vol.47, No.1-2, pp.23-28
*) AEROSP, CANNES, FRANCE
Radar echoes from the nucleus of the short-period comet
Grigg-Skjellerup were obtained using the 12.6 cm wavelength radar
of
the Arecibo Observatory during the apparition of 20 May-2 June
1982.
Dual circularly-polarized receiving channels were employed. The
receiving mode orthogonally polarized to the transmission yielded
an
echo equal to nearly 10 times the standard deviation of the
accompanying noise; no echo was detected in the polarization of
the
same sense as transmitted. The observations give a radar
cross-section
of 0.50 +/- 0.13 km(2), and an upper limit to the width of the
(unresolved) echo spectrum of less than 1 Hz. These results are
consistent with specular reflection from a solid nucleus having a
radius of less than 0.4 km. The upper limit depends on the
unknown
rotation rate and scattering law. Two other comets, comets Austin
and
P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko have also been probed but have not
returned any
detectable echo, thus allowing one to put only an upper limit on
the
sizes of their nuclei. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science
Ltd. All
rights reserved.
================
(6) PROSPECTS IN ASTROMETRY & ORBITAL DETERMINATION OF MINOR
BODIES
M. Carpino: Prospects in astrometry and orbital determination of
minor
bodies. PLANETARY AND SPACE SCIENCE, 1999, Vol.47, No.1-2,
pp.29-34
*) OSSERV ASTRON BRERA,VIA BRERA 28,MILAN,ITALY
The astrometry of asteroids and comets is undergoing a
significant
progress, both in accuracy and number of observations, as a
consequence
of the introduction of CCD devices and the availability of
stellar
catalogues dense enough to cope with CCD relatively small fields
of
view. Further, substantial progress in accuracy is expected from
the
availability of Hipparcos catalogues. We review briefly the main
consequences of these changes and the new requirements they pose
on the
procedures for collecting, processing, archiving and distributing
astrometric observations and on the software to be used for
astrometric
reduction and orbital analysis. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
All
rights reserved.
=================
(7) STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF METEORS
D.D. Meisel, J.E. Richardson: Statistical properties of meteors
from a
simple, passive forward scatter system. PLANETARY AND SPACE
SCIENCE,
1999, Vol.47, No.1-2, pp.107-124
*) SUNY COLL GENESEO,DEPT PHYS & ASTRON,GENESEO,NY,14454
A project to determine some long-term statistical properties of
the
terrestrial meteor flux is described. A passive, 55 MHz (US - TV
channel 2), forward-scatter radiometeor detection and simple
(Apple
IIe) computer logging system is used to record the epoch,
duration and
peak power of all echoes with durations greater than 0.09 s and
less
than 2 min. The system has been in 'continuous' routine operation
from
March 1993 to March 1998 with occasional interruptions due to
sporadic
E, troposcatter and equipment outages. Over 2,000,000 events have
been
recorded and logging is continuing on a 24-h basis. Grouping by
echo
type is done statistically at the data processing stage. Using
only a
small fraction of the available data, we show that this system
produces
valid and useful scientific results in spite of the fact that
meteor
velocities are not obtained. Through computer-aided statistical
analysis, some of the milestones achieved are: (a) automatic
separation
of events into overdense, transition and underdense categories,
and
compilation of various statistics on these groups or some
combination
of them; (b) confirmation of a diurnal effect on average
underdense
trail durations; (c) confirmation of an apparent ozone depletion
effect
on the durations of overdense meteors; (d) interpretation of an
apparent peak-power and duration correlation for overdense echoes
in
terms of the Manning forward scattering model and (e)
confirmation
(through a power spectrum analysis of hourly rates) of the
presence of
sporadic radiant sources of approximately 20 degrees of
half-intensity-halfwidth which exhibit a 20-30% 16 day
variability.
(C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
====================
(8) COMETARY ORIGIN OF SEAWATER
A.H. Delsemme: The deuterium enrichment observed in recent comets
is
consistent with the cometary origin of seawater. PLANETARY AND
SPACE
SCIENCE, 1999, Vol.47, No.1-2, pp.125-131
*) UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO,2801 W BANCROFT ST,TOLEDO,OH,43606
The deuterium enrichment observed in the water molecules of
comets
Halley, Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp is about twice as large as that
of
seawater. Their orbital features suggest that they probably
originated
in the zones of the outer planets; this implies that their
deuterium
enrichment was not modified from its interstellar origin. In
contrast,
most of the seawater was likely brought to Earth by an early
bombardment of comets, that originated mostly in Jupiter's zone,
where
steam from the inner Solar System condensed onto icy interstellar
grains before they accreted into larger bodies, explaining why
Jupiter's comets were of a different kind. The deuterium
enrichment of
seawater is quantitatively consistent with its origin from a
cometary
bombardment of the primitive Earth. (C) 1999 Published by
Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
===================
(9) RADAR OBSERVATIONS OF THE PERSEID METEOR STREAM
M. Simek*), P. Pecina: Perseid meteor stream: cross and
longitudinal
structures from radar observations. PLANETARY AND SPACE SCIENCE,
1999,
Vol.47, No.1-2, pp.281-289
*) ASTRONOMICAL INSTITUTE,ONDREJOV 25165,CZECH REPUBLIC
Results of 23 years of observations of the Perseid meteor shower
by the
Ondiejov meteor radar in the period 1958-1996 are presented.
Activity
profiles in four categories of echo durations differ slightly in
the
position of the activity peak and other characteristics of the
central
core in the range of solar longitudes (Eq. 1950.0) 138.0 degrees
less
than or equal to L. less than or equal to 140.5 degrees. Maximum
activity of the central core is allocated at L. = 139.17 degrees
+/-
0.06 degrees in accordance with previous studies. The variation
ratio
of the year-to-year shower activity along the stream within the
above
L. limits was found to be 2.2:1. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
All
rights reserved.
----------------------------------------
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please contact the moderator Benny J Peiser <b.j.peiser@livjm.ac.uk>.
Information circulated on this network is for scholarly and
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*
LETTERS TO THE MODERATOR, 16 April 1999
--------------------------------------
"Once again you've gotten things
really sparking on CCNet and
elsewhere! I'm starting to feel that you
have a small
sociological experiment going on here on
this network. :^)"
(from an anonymous list member)
(1) THANK YOU, ARTHUR. I CAN STAND THE HEAT
Sir Arthur Clarke
(2) WHY DON'T WE JUST FACE THE FACTS AND TELL THE PUBLIC THE
TRUTH?
Richard Kowalski <bitnik@bitnik.com>
(3) THE MOST SHARPEST, LIVLIEST, MOST VITAL DEBATE PUBLISHED
TODAY
Steve Weintz <indy@the-line.com>
(4) BBC REPORT ON MINOR PLANET (9007) JAMES BOND
Jana Ticha - Klet Observatory <jticha@klet.cz>
========================
(1) THANK YOU, ARTHUR. I CAN STAND THE HEAT
From Sir Arthur Clarke
Dear Benny,
Sorry you are getting so much flack - I hope
everyone appreciates
the tremendous job you are doing.
Will someone tell David Whitehouse that I had
an asteroid named
after me in 1996 - No. 4923. My sadly missed friend Isaac Asimov
also
has one - I was told that his was larger but more eccentric than
mine
(or maybe it was the other way round.)
All best.
Arthur
15 April 1999
==========================
(2) WHY DON'T WE JUST FACE THE FACTS AND TELL THE PUBLIC THE
TRUTH?
From Richard Kowalski <bitnik@bitnik.com>
Benny:
Robert Roy Britt <rob@explorezone.com>
wrote:
> It seems clear that the story, which has since been picked
up by AP and
> other major news organizations, is legitimate. The dispute
over whether
> the research should have been posted on the Web is a dispute
mostly
> between scientists, but it has been made public, and that is
news in
> this case (given that it involves a potentially deadly topic
matter).
> In fact, the whole issue became public when it was posted on
the Web.
> Any scientist who doesn't know this is far behind the
general public in
> their understanding of the Web.
So here Mr. Britt explains that the story is that astronomers are
in
disagreement as to how to properly release this information. I
for
one have seen little in the "mainstream" media about
this topic. The
reports I have read are almost always about 1999 AN10 and very
little
about the ongoing discussion. A large part of your (original)
article
does cover this however, and I do praise Mr. Britt for that.
Michael Paine <mpaine@tpgi.com.au>
wrote:
> The current debate about Asteroid 1999 AN10 amongst
astronomers and
> others in the scientific community is mainly concerned with
the manner
> in which information about potentially hazardous asteroids
is released
> to the public.
This certainly is strange that it is over a year since the 1997
XF11
miasma and we as a community have still not come to grips with
the
very public nature of our work! The NEO survey programs literally
affect everyone on the planet. The real story here is not NEOs
and
PHAs but the fact that we haven't resolved our own internal
problems,
YET.
The announcement of new PHAs or early calculations which may show
an
earth impact in the next century, based on a very small orbital
arc,
is not one which should cause a stir *every time* they are made.
The
absolute reason for these survey programs is to discover the
2000+
PHAs which endanger the earth's inhabitants. Why should the
discovery
of yet another PHA which needs more observation, cause so much
controversy?
Instead of continuing to argue about publishing on the web (Get
used
to it; It's here to stay, whether you like it or not.) and John
Q.
Public's "right to know", why don't we just face the
facts and tell
the public (and ourselves) the truth?
We are now looking for these objects and we will be finding many
hundreds or thousands of them over the course of the next two
decades. We are continuing to publish through traditional, peer
reviewed means, but because of the nature of many of these
objects,
we have a *very* tiny observing window after discovery. These
early
observations and calculations help to draw our (scientists)
attention
to the "important" NEOs but should never be any cause
for alarm. It
is the normal state of things in this field of research. The need
to
publish to a greater number of researchers via the internet is
sometimes
necessary.
There have been a number of minor planets which have passed the
earth
at safe, but rather close distances in recent years. These close
passes would have made headlines just 20 or 30 years ago. Now
these
stories are several pages back, if they make the papers at all.
1999 AN10 is a story that will only really become interesting in
2004. Argue about it then.
--
Richard Kowalski
Quail Hollow
Observatory Minor
Planet Mailing List
http://www.bitnik.com/QHO
http://www.bitnik.com/mp
==============
(3) THE MOST SHARPEST, LIVELIEST & MOST VITAL DEBATE
PUBLISHED TODAY
From Steve Weintz <indy@the-line.com>
As Robert Britt alludes to in his reply, there's truly a new
world
here. The digests of the last couple of weeks on CCNet ought to
become
required reading in college journalism and rhetoric classes. The
sharpest, livliest, most vital debate published today. Forget TV
newsmagazines and investigative reports.
Regards,
Steve Weintz
Canyon Studios
===============
(4) BBC REPORT ON MINOR PLANET (9007) JAMES BOND
From Jana Ticha - Klet Observatory <jticha@klet.cz>
Dear Benny,
Minor planet (9007) James Bond is a Klet discovery from 1983
which
Milos, Zdenek and I observed in 1995, 1997 and 1998 for
astrometry
prior to numbering. We have been inspired not only by super
Bond's
movies, but also by a "number game" which contains Her
Majesty's
Secret Agent code 007 for this naming.
Welcome sometime at Klet, if you'll visit the Czech Republic.
Best regards
Jana
-----------------
CCNet-LETTERS is the discussion forum of the Cambridge-Conference
Network. Contributions to the on-going debate about near-Earth
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