PLEASE NOTE:
*
From: Bob Kobres <bkobres@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Organization: University of Georgia Libraries
To: HUMBPEIS <B.J.PEISER@livjm.ac.uk>
Date sent: Mon, 28 Apr 1997 10:08:34 EST
Subject: Re: Halt Friend, or PHO?
Copies to: cambridge-conference@livjm.ac.uk
Priority: normal
I'm phor PHO! Duncan's idea of Potentially Hazardous Object makes
a lot of
sense--perhaps a scheme such as follows would fly.
NEO = Near-Earth Object: A newly discovered object within the
inner Solar
System--a temporary designation--neo = new. The implication being
that the
object was recently detected due to its nearness to Earth.
PHO = Potentially-Hazardous Object: An object that presents a
finite threat to
Earth within the next millennium (or whatever interval)--a longer
term
designation--pho = foe in sound and is etymologically near fear
(phobos). The
implication being that this is an object we should fear until we
transform it
into a:
BRO = Benign Resource-Object: An object that is not a near term
threat but
rather a possible source of raw materials. The designation we
ultimately want
for all PHOs--bro = brother or friend.
Such a naming convention would certainly provide all interested
parties with a
clearer picture of what is out there regardless of an
individual's ability to
interpret orbital data. This structure would seemingly not be
difficult to
adopt since it would retain the most widely used acronym--NEO--as
the initial
classification for an object until a well defined orbit for the
NEO was
obtained. Only when that task is achieved would the PHO or BRO
labels be used
to describe the object.
Bob Kobres
email= <bkobres@uga.cc.uga.edu>
url= http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk
phone= 706-542-0583