Saturday, February 15, 2014

New minor planets discovered today:

2014 CH14
discoverer: Pan-STARRS 1- Haleakala observatory
Semimajor axis: 2.437-2.537 AU
Perihelion: 1.286-1.295 AU
Aphelion: 3.611-3.758 AU
Eccentricity: 0.47-0.492
Inclination: 10.318-10.71 degrees
Period: 3.802-4.038 Years
Absolute magnitude: 19.6
Diameter: ~450 meters

Today's Astronomy anniversaries:

  • Discoveries:
    • None
  •  Events:
    • 1996 (18 years ago)- A Chinese rocket, carrying Intelsat 708, fails to launch and crashes in a nearby village.
    • 2013 (1 year ago)- A meteor impacts Chelyabinsk, Russia, right before asteroid 367943 Duende (2012 DA14) makes a close approach to Earth. It is the largest asteroid impact on earth for over 100 years.
  • Births:
    • 1564 (450 years ago) Galileo Galilei is born in Pisa, Italy
    • 1851 (163 years ago) Spiru Haret, A Romanian-Armenian astronomer who founded the Astronomical Observatory in Bucharest, Romania, is born in Iaşi, Romania.
    • 1935 (79 years ago) Roger B. Chaffee, a test pilot for the Apollo 1 program, is born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
  • Deaths:
    • None
  
              Coming up later today:
An introduction to the blog's routine & the mysterious lines on Mars's moon, Phobos!

Friday, February 14, 2014

A brief outline of the websites used here

Some of the main websites I'll be using to get my information include:

JPL Small-Body Database Browser-A website from the Jet Propulsion Library where you can access orbital diagrams, error bars on values, and close-approach data.
Minor Planet Center-A website by the International Astronomical Union showing recent minor planets found, showing what type the object is
On This Day-Wikipedia-Wikipedia's list of anniversaries last year. I select astronomy-related ones and add them to my list.

My first official post will start tomorrow. See you then. ;)

Intro to the blog

Hello, I'm Planetaryscience. I've had a passion for astronomy for a long time, particularly planetary science. I have researched the planets, moons, comets, and asteroids of the Solar System. In this blog, I'll provide daily updates on minor planet discoveries, astronomy anniversaries, and more! Hope you enjoy!