15 min listen
Travelers in the Night Eps. 231E & 232E: Comet Ahoy & Earth’s Wobble
Travelers in the Night Eps. 231E & 232E: Comet Ahoy & Earth’s Wobble
ratings:
Length:
6 minutes
Released:
Jan 14, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org Today's 2 topics: - Recently a relatively dim object, Comet P/2016 BA14 flew past Earth at about 9 times the distance to our Moon from us. It was the third closest comet approach in recorded history. This situation allowed NASA scientists to use the Goldstone Solar System Radar located in California to obtain detailed RADAR images. These revealed the nucleus of P/2016 BA14 to be about 3000 feet in diameter. It slowly spins once very 35 to 40 hours as it travels on its 5.26 year orbital path around the Sun. Observations by the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea reveal the nucleus to be as dark as fresh asphalt which means it's surface is about 4 times darker than that of our moon. - A careful study of the Earth's motion in space is a key to understanding past climate change and enables us to predict future patterns of flooding and drought.Wobbles tell all. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.
Released:
Jan 14, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Cheap Astronomy - Dear CA #97: Only So Much: You can’t have everything. – How big is the Universe? Needless to say we just don’t know, beyond saying it’s at least as big as the observable Universe and very likely bigger. The real answer to the question may just be unknowable, since we... by The 365 Days of Astronomy