380E-416-Odd Ball

The orbits of the planets are closely aligned with the extension of the Sun's equator into space and are contained within the flattened disk of material which forms the plane solar system. Most asteroids have orbits with inclinations or tilts to the solar system's plane which are less than 20 degrees. Thus, when my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Rose Matheny discovered a small space rock which soars into the lonely space high above and below our solar system's plane, it got our attention. As with all of our asteroid discoveries, Rose had no idea of what kind of object she had discovered with our Schmidt Telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona until it had been tracked by observers around the world. The Minor Planet Center used the data from 14 different telescopes to calculate an orbit, estimate a size, and give the new object the name, 2017 TF4. Rose's odd ball near Earth Apollo asteroid discovery , 2017 TF4, has an orbit which is tilted by 60 degrees to the plane of our solar system. It's inclination or tilt is greater than 99.5% of the other 8,000 known Earth approaching Apollo asteroids. 2017 TF4, Rose's 260 foot diameter discovery orbits the Sun at about the same distance as the Earth once every 414 days. Perhaps as asteroid hunters discover additional small objects with orbits similar to Rose's discovery we will be able to trace them back to when they were created by a catastrophic collision long ago.

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Jaksot(1000)

912-Boston Bolide

Recently on a Saturday afternoon a loud double booming sound startled residents of Massachusetts and Rhode Island as a large bolide meteor exploded high above. This type of space rock is a message fr...

14 Elo 2min

401E-442-Brian's Debut

During the only 3 clears hours of his first night solo as an asteroid hunter, my new Catalina Sky Survey teammate Brian Africano discovered two new Earth approaching asteroids with our Schmidt Telesco...

11 Elo 2min

911-Comet Brightness Explosion

Comet 220P/McNaught orbits the Sun once every 5.5 years on a path which is between Mars and Jupiter. At that extreme distance, more than 1.5 times the Earth’s distance from the Sun, it still receives ...

7 Elo 2min

400E-441-Carson's Pair

My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Carson Fuls was observing, in the constellation Lynx, with our Schmidt telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona , when within the space of only 35 minutes, he discovered two s...

4 Elo 2min

910-Mega Constellations

In an experiment that will involve all of the residents of planet Earth SpaceX has asked the FCC for permission to launch 1 million satellites into low Earth orbit to create a solar powered data cente...

31 Heinä 2min

399E-440-Tracking Elon's Car

Elon Musk decided not to use a traditional mundane concrete block dummy payload for the first launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle to test his rockets lifting capabilities. After orbiting ...

28 Heinä 2min

909- 2026 JH2

My Catalina Sky Survey teammates Josh Hogan and Alessandra Serrano were asteroid hunting in the constellation of Ursa Major when they discovered a fast moving point of light in the night sky. My team...

24 Heinä 2min

398E-439-Big and Close

Using our Schmidt telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona, my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Richard Kowalski was searching for Earth approaching asteroids in the constellation of Virgo when he discovered a m...

21 Heinä 2min