[meteorite-list] Bill Could Help Asteroid Watch

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:06:56 2004
Message-ID: <200210062303.QAA19582_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021004-100051-1756r

Bill could help asteroid watch
By Scott R. Burnell
UPI
October 4, 2002

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Legislation that creates financial incentives
for amateur astronomers to locate and track large celestial debris capable
of striking Earth would be welcomed by professional astronomers, according
to testimony presented on Capitol Hill.

The federal government needs more effective efforts to locate and track
potentially dangerous near-Earth objects, said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,
R-Calif., chairman of the House Science Subcommittee on Space and
Aeronautics. Within just the past year, he said, three asteroids showed some
possibility of striking Earth.

"We should not take comfort in the fact these asteroids missed us, because
in astronomical terms they missed by a hair," Rohrabacher said. "We need to
clearly understand the future goals of a national NEO policy in terms of
cost, technical know-how and technology to meet the challenge of finding,
monitoring and mitigating (these objects)."

One piece of Rohrabacher's agenda, H.R. 5303, the "Pete" Conrad Astronomy
Awards Act, passed the House on a voice vote earlier this week. The bill,
named for the third man to walk on the moon, would reward amateur
sky-watchers who either spot new large NEOs -- as the near-Earth objects are
called -- or help track previously identified ones, helping free up more
advanced equipment to spot smaller but still-dangerous solar system
wanderers.

Although amateurs occasionally spot comets and rarely spot asteroids,
encouraging their activities makes sense, said Brian Marsden, director of
the Smithsonian Institution's Minor Planet Center. NEO surveys need all the
assistance they can get -- the MPC's operations, while highly automated,
only have three staff members, Marsden told the subcommittee.

"The part of the Pete Conrad Award ... for follow-up observations should
actually be more (encouraging)," Marsden said. "It should also be noted
there are better prospects for amateur discoveries in the Southern
Hemisphere, because of the absence of professional surveys there."

Most NEO discussions cover objects larger than 100 meters (about 325 feet)
in diameter and their ability to cause continental or even global
catastrophes. The most immediate threat, however, comes from smaller objects
impacting the atmosphere and exploding with enough force to resemble nuclear
detonations, said Brig. Gen. Pete Worden, vice director of operations at the
U.S. Air Force's Space Command.

One such impact occurred over the Mediterranean Sea early this past June,
Worden said, when new nuclear powers India and Pakistan were exchanging
sporadic gunfire over the disputed Kashmir region. If the blast, one of the
largest military sensors have ever seen, had occurred over Southwest Asia,
it might have triggered a nuclear exchange before U.S. or other agencies
with sophisticated sensors could have announced the true cause, he said.

"There is considerable synergy related to man-made satellites and global
security requirements related to NEO impacts," Worden told the subcommittee.
"Adding a modest number of people, probably (fewer) than 10, to current
early-warning centers and supporting staff within (the complex in Colorado
at) Cheyenne Mountain could form the basis of an Natural Impact Warning
Clearinghouse."

Although the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is nearing
completion of a congressionally mandated survey of all NEOs larger than a
kilometer in diameter, official efforts in this area need more support, said
subcommittee member Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.

"For too long we've assumed that the worst asteroid risk would come from
Hollywood, in the form of a sequel to flops like "Deep Impact" or
"Armageddon," Weiner said. "If we can plow $100 million into a summer flick,
we can certainly give NASA the means to make us safer from real-life
blockbusters."
Received on Sun 06 Oct 2002 07:03:22 PM PDT