Travelers in the Night Eps. 379 & 380: Well Done & Odd Ball

Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org

From March 2026.

Today's 2 topics:

- Once every 1,435 days , a 780 foot diameter space rock, 2017 TC1, that my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Carson Fuls discovered makes an annihilation defying close approach to our star. At it's nearest point to the Sun, Carson's well done space rock is traveling at an amazing 93 miles per second and receives 26 times the amount of solar radiation that heats the surface of the planet Mercury to 800° F. After Carson first discovered his heat resistant space rock traveling towards it's next hot date with the Sun, it was observed by telescopes in New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, and England.

- 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 2017 TF4, 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.

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