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Re: Asteroid Will Miss Earth By Comfortable Distance In 2028


> just consider the page one status of the story combined with a certain
> overeager aspect in the issuance of such "news"...news which is so fragile
> that it can be swiped aside INSTANTEOUSLY.  (check out the interval of
> time--or lack thereof--between the posting of the smithsonian's and jpl's
> press releases on "1997 XF11")

I'm not sure what your point is, but Marsden's and JPL's press releases
were not instanteous, and were sent out more than 24 hours apart. 
Brian Marsden issued his press release
on March 11 based on observations over an 88 day period
of the asteroid.  At the same time, he sent out a request to the astronomy
community for additional observations of the asteroid, including possible
prediscovery images.  A prediscovery image was discovered th Eleanor Helin
and party from a 1990 Palomar Observatory plate the next day.  Don Yeomans
and Paul Chodas took the new information and determined a more precise
orbit which is based on data now covering an 8 year period, as opposed to Marsden's
88 day period.  The JPL press release came out on  the afternoon of March 12,
more than 24 hours after Marsden's announcement.  

Ron Baalke
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