Small Asteroid to Safely Pass Close to Earth Sunday
This graphic depicts the passage of asteroid 2014
RC past Earth on September 7, 2014. At time of closest approach, the space rock
will be about one-tenth the distance from Earth to the moon. Times indicated on
the graphic are Universal Time.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech
This graphic depicts the orbit of asteroid 2014 RC
around the sun. A house-sized asteroid will safely fly past Earth Sunday
afternoon, September 7, at a distance equivalent to about one-tenth of the
distance between Earth and the moon.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech
A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to Earth on
Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. At the time of closest approach, based on current
calculations to be about 2:18 p.m. EDT (11:18 a.m. PDT / 18:18 UTC), the
asteroid will be roughly over New Zealand. From its reflected brightness,
astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about 60 feet (20 meters) in size.
Asteroid 2014 RC was initially discovered on the night of August 31 by the
Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, and independently detected the next
night by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope, located on the summit of Haleakalā on Maui,
Hawaii. Both reported their observations to the Minor Planet Center in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additional follow-up observations by the Catalina Sky
Survey and the University of Hawaii 88-inch (2.2-meter) telescope on Mauna Kea
confirmed the orbit of 2014 RC.
At the time of closest approach, 2014 RC will be approximately one-tenth the
distance from the center of Earth to the moon, or about 25,000 miles (40,000
kilometers). The asteroid's apparent magnitude at that time will be about 11.5,
rendering it unobservable to the unaided eye. However, amateur astronomers with
small telescopes might glimpse the fast-moving appearance of this near-Earth
asteroid.
The asteroid will pass below Earth and the geosynchronous ring of
communications and weather satellites orbiting about 22,000 miles (36,000
kilometers) above our planet’s surface. While this celestial object does not
appear to pose any threat to Earth or satellites, its close approach creates a
unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more about
asteroids.
While 2014 RC will not impact Earth, its orbit will bring it back to our
planet's neighborhood in the future. The asteroid's future motion will be
closely monitored, but no future threatening Earth encounters have been
identified.
For a heliocentric view of the orbit of asteroid 2014 RC with respect to
Earth and other planets, visit:
NASA
NASA Awards Ozone Mapping and Profiling Suite
Modification for the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 Mission
NASA has awarded a sole source contract modification to Ball Aerospace and
Technology Corp. of Boulder, Colorado, for the Ozone Mapping and Profiling Suite
(OMPS) for flight on the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) mission.
The JPSS-2 mission is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to provide global environmental data in low Earth polar
orbit in support of NOAA's mission. NASA is the acquisition agent for the flight
systems and components of the ground system.
This is a cost-plus-award-fee modification in the amount of $113 million.
This action extends the period of performance of the contract from November 2013
through May 2021.
Under this contract, Ball Aerospace and Technology will manufacture, test and
deliver the OMPS instrument, support instrument integration on the JPSS-2
spacecraft and provide launch and post-launch support. The OMPS instrument will
be similar to the OMPS currently flying on the joint NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP mission
and planned for the JPSS-1 mission. JPSS-1 is being planned for launch in 2016
and JPSS-2 is planned for launch in 2021.
OMPS will monitor ozone from space, collect total column and vertical profile
ozone data, and continue the current daily global data provided by the Solar
Backscatter Ultraviolet radiometer-2 and Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer. The
collection of this data contributes to fulfilling the U.S. treaty obligation to
monitor the ozone depletion for the Montreal Protocol to ensure no gaps on ozone
coverage.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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