[meteorite-list] Look forward to Asteroid ParisHilton

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:32:26 -0500
Message-ID: <8q8so39tl23r6csculjtjblbqbkc9ai8fr_at_4ax.com>

http://www.wisn.com/education/15056479/detail.html

Racine Sophomores Discover Asteroid

POSTED: 4:23 pm CST January 15, 2008

RACINE, Wis. -- Three Racine sophomore students were notified on Monday that a
celestial body they discovered during a science project had been verified as an
asteroid.

The students at Racine's Prairie School will be able to name the asteroid,
temporarily identified as "2008 AZ28," in about four years, according to the
Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., the international authority on known
objects in the solar system.

Sophomores Connor Leipold, Tim Pastika and Kyle Simpson were able to make the
discovery thanks to technology provided from Calvin College in Grand Rapids,
Mich., which is also the alma mater of the science teacher, Andrew Vanden
Heuvel, school spokeswoman Susan Paprcka said.

"It?s extremely rare and I don?t know if an asteroid has ever been discovered by
high school students before," Vanden Heuvel said. "Ninety-nine percent are
discovered by professional researchers."

Calvin College has telescopes located in New Mexico that operate remotely and
can be controlled over the Internet. Vanden Heuvel explained that the telescopes
take digital pictures of the sky -- about one per hour for four hours each
night. The students watched the photos as if they were watching a movie in slow
motion, keeping close eye on what changes were taking place in the sky.

The asteroid must be observed two nights in a row in order for it to be
considered an official "discovery," Vanden Heuvel said.

"Asteroids are not easy to spot,"Mr. Vanden Heuvel said. "They are very faint,
about 10,000 times fainter than the faintest thing you can see with your naked
eyes. You need to know how to look for them."

He estimates that the 2008 AZ28 asteroid takes approximately five years to orbit
the sun.

The students also located other potential objects that may be asteroids, and are
currently conducting follow-up research.
Received on Wed 16 Jan 2008 10:32:26 AM PST