Amateur skywatchers help space hazards team

ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2011) — For the first time, observations coordinated by the European Space Agency's space hazards team have found an asteroid that comes close enough to Earth to pose an impact threat. The space rock was found by amateur astronomers, highlighting the value of 'crowd-sourcing' to science and planetary defence.

The discovery of asteroid 2011 SF108 was made by the volunteer Teide Observatory Tenerife Asteroid Survey (TOTAS) team during an observation slot sponsored by ESA's Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme in September.

The four-night survey used the 1m-aperture telescope at ESA's Optical Ground Station at Teide on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

This is not the first asteroid found under SSA sponsorship, but it is the first that qualifies as a 'near Earth object' -- an object that passes close enough to Earth during its orbit around the Sun that it could pose an impact threat.

Images require human evaluation

During TOTAS observations, the telescope runs automated asteroid surveys for several hours using software developed by amateur astronomer and computer scientist Matthias Busch from the Starkenburg Amateur Observatory in Heppenheim, Germany.

However, potential sightings must still be evaluated by humans.

The team comprises 20 volunteers, most of whom took part in the manual evaluation of images captured during the session on 28/29 September.

Safe distance: 30 million km

"Images are distributed to the entire team for review, and any one of them could be the discoverer of a new asteroid," says Detlef Koschny, Head of NEO activity for SSA. "This time, the luck of the draw fell to Rainer Kracht."

"As volunteer work, it is very rewarding. When you do spot something, you contribute to Europe's efforts in defending against asteroid hazards."

The orbit of asteroid 2011 SF108 brings it no closer than about 30 million km to Earth -- a safe distance.

The object is the 46th asteroid discovered by Mr Kracht, a retired school teacher who lives in Elmshorn, near Hamburg, Germany. "Eight of us reviewed images on the night of the discovery, and I was lucky to be the one who found 2011 SF108 as part of this team," says Mr Kracht.

"The discovery was only possible with the excellent software developed by Matthias Busch, who also spotted this object in the images on the second night and sent the observations to the Minor Planet Center."

To date, some 8000 NEOs have been discovered worldwide but many thousands more are suspected to exist, particularly in the size of metres to hundreds of metres. It is important to find and track these to determine if any pose an impact threat to Earth.

Amateur TOTAS team lays foundation

TOTAS is helping to lay the foundation for a future European asteroid survey as part of the full SSA programme, which is to be decided in 2012.

Such a survey would use multiple 1m telescopes to scan the complete sky every night, a much larger effort than at present, and is expected to discover several NEOs per week. It would use a mix of professional and 'crowd-sourced' astronomers.

Currently, professional asteroid surveys are performed only in the USA. The only significant asteroid survey in Europe now is the La Sagra Sky Survey, undertaken by amateur astronomers in southern Spain.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by European Space Agency (ESA).

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Amateur skywatchers help space hazards team

ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2011) — For the first time, observations coordinated by the European Space Agency's space hazards team have found an asteroid that comes close enough to Earth to pose an impact threat. The space rock was found by amateur astronomers, highlighting the value of 'crowd-sourcing' to science and planetary defence.

The discovery of asteroid 2011 SF108 was made by the volunteer Teide Observatory Tenerife Asteroid Survey (TOTAS) team during an observation slot sponsored by ESA's Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme in September.

The four-night survey used the 1m-aperture telescope at ESA's Optical Ground Station at Teide on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

This is not the first asteroid found under SSA sponsorship, but it is the first that qualifies as a 'near Earth object' -- an object that passes close enough to Earth during its orbit around the Sun that it could pose an impact threat.

Images require human evaluation

During TOTAS observations, the telescope runs automated asteroid surveys for several hours using software developed by amateur astronomer and computer scientist Matthias Busch from the Starkenburg Amateur Observatory in Heppenheim, Germany.

However, potential sightings must still be evaluated by humans.

The team comprises 20 volunteers, most of whom took part in the manual evaluation of images captured during the session on 28/29 September.

Safe distance: 30 million km

"Images are distributed to the entire team for review, and any one of them could be the discoverer of a new asteroid," says Detlef Koschny, Head of NEO activity for SSA. "This time, the luck of the draw fell to Rainer Kracht."

"As volunteer work, it is very rewarding. When you do spot something, you contribute to Europe's efforts in defending against asteroid hazards."

The orbit of asteroid 2011 SF108 brings it no closer than about 30 million km to Earth -- a safe distance.

The object is the 46th asteroid discovered by Mr Kracht, a retired school teacher who lives in Elmshorn, near Hamburg, Germany. "Eight of us reviewed images on the night of the discovery, and I was lucky to be the one who found 2011 SF108 as part of this team," says Mr Kracht.

"The discovery was only possible with the excellent software developed by Matthias Busch, who also spotted this object in the images on the second night and sent the observations to the Minor Planet Center."

To date, some 8000 NEOs have been discovered worldwide but many thousands more are suspected to exist, particularly in the size of metres to hundreds of metres. It is important to find and track these to determine if any pose an impact threat to Earth.

Amateur TOTAS team lays foundation

TOTAS is helping to lay the foundation for a future European asteroid survey as part of the full SSA programme, which is to be decided in 2012.

Such a survey would use multiple 1m telescopes to scan the complete sky every night, a much larger effort than at present, and is expected to discover several NEOs per week. It would use a mix of professional and 'crowd-sourced' astronomers.

Currently, professional asteroid surveys are performed only in the USA. The only significant asteroid survey in Europe now is the La Sagra Sky Survey, undertaken by amateur astronomers in southern Spain.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by European Space Agency (ESA).

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Scanning the skies for debris hazards

ScienceDaily (June 7, 2011) — Today, orbiting satellites are threatened by over 700 000 pieces of debris. Avoiding them requires knowing where they are, and that means surveillance with radar and telescopes. The European Space Agency is designing a system to catalog debris and warn satellite operators when to take evasive action.

This week, over 150 global experts will meet at an ESA-organised conference to share the latest research findings on space debris, surveillance technology, orbital hazard detection and satellite safety. The first European Space Surveillance Conference (ESS2011) will be held 7-9 June in Madrid, Spain.

The conference spotlights ESA's Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme, now in the preliminary phase, which aims to put in place a 'three-legged' system to warn of hazards posed by orbital debris, space weather and natural objects like asteroids that may strike Earth.

Extensive reuse of existing resources

Since 2009, the Agency's SSA team have been working to define the system's overall technical structure, while actively evaluating existing European assets, such as scientific research radars and telescopes, which could contribute to SSA.

The development strategy is based on an extensive use of national and European assets, as well as the procurement of the missing components of the future SSA System.

2011 is a busy year for SSA surveillance development activities, perhaps the most urgent leg of the programme.

Complex engineering and scientific challenge

A new generation of software was recently implemented to warn when satellites could be hit by orbiting debris.

"At the moment, it is undergoing extensive testing using known debris orbits, but it's a first step toward the software we'll use when Europe has its own surveillance capability," says ESA's Emmet Fletcher, Head of the Space Surveillance and Tracking Segment at the SSA programme office.

Hosting an international conference like ESS2011 is crucial for staying up to date with global best practises and meeting scientific experts who work with current-generation radars and telescopes.

Debris surveillance is a complex engineering and scientific challenge in part due to the fact that even a tiny piece of debris -- just 1 centimetre across -- can seriously damage or even destroy a functioning satellite if it impacts at orbital velocities.

"We are now finalising a pan-European survey and test of existing tracking facilities, such as radars and telescopes located in France, Germany, Italy, Norway, UK, Switzerland and Spain," says Emmet.

"Knowing how precise these are is fundamental to designing ESA's new SSA system, which may make use of their data in combination with debris readings obtained by new, highly accurate radars and telescopes in the future.

"We know there is a huge amount of knowledge across Europe and globally. Having a single forum where experts from around the world can meet and present new information is vital and helps move our collective know-how forward.

"New techniques, new approaches and sharing past experience helps all space-faring nations work more safely in orbit."

Conference brings together global experts

At the conference, over 150 experts from more than 20 nations will take in over 50 presentations. There are also dedicated information sessions on policy, optical and radar observations, and engineering design as well as presentations from the future customers of the SSA system.

Today, Europe cannot scan as much of space as necessary to provide comprehensive debris warning services to private and public spacecraft operators, like those flying telecommunication, climate and weather satellites.

"But we have to ensure that the design for the next-generation debris surveillance and tracking systems that SSA will propose at the end of the current preliminary phase in 2012 will perform as needed at a cost that is realistic," says Emmet.

"This is a challenging task, and achieving it means that conferences like ESS2011, involving a large number of experts, are crucial for knowing the best way forward."

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by European Space Agency.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

New material could improve safety for first responders to chemical hazards

ScienceDaily (May 2, 2011) — A new kind of sensor could warn emergency workers when carbon filters in the respirators they wear to avoid inhaling toxic fumes have become dangerously saturated.

In a recent issue of the journal Advanced Materials, a team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego and Tyco Electronics describe how they made the carbon nanostructures and demonstrate their potential use as microsensors for volatile organic compounds.

First responders protect themselves from such vapors, whose composition is often unknown, by breathing through a canister filled with activated charcoal -- a gas mask. Airborne toxins stick to the carbon in the filter, trapping the dangerous materials.

As the filters become saturated, chemicals will begin to pass through. The respirator can then do more harm than good by providing an illusion of safety. But there is no easy way to determine when the filter is spent. Current safety protocols base the timing of filter changes on how long the user has worn the mask.

"The new sensors would provide a more accurate reading of how much material the carbon in the filters has actually absorbed," said team leader Michael Sailor, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and bioengineering at UC San Diego. "Because these carbon nanofibers have the same chemical properties as the activated charcoal used in respirators, they have a similar ability to absorb organic pollutants."

Sailor's team assembled the nanofibers into repeating structures called photonic crystals that reflect specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. The wing scales of the Morpho butterfly, which give the insect its brilliant iridescent coloration, are natural examples of this kind of structure.

The sensors are an iridescent color too, rather than black like ordinary carbon. That color changes when the fibers absorb toxins -- a visible indication of their capacity for absorbing additional chemicals.

The agency that certifies respirators in the U.S., the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, has long sought such a sensor but the design requirements for a tiny, sensitive, inexpensive device that requires little power, have proved difficult to meet.

The materials that the team fabricated are very thin -- less than half the width of a human hair. Sailor's group has previously placed similar photonic sensors on the tips of optical fibers less than a millimeter across and shown that they can be inserted into respirator cartridges. And the crystals are sensitive enough to detect chemicals such as toluene at concentrations as low as one part per million.

Ting Gao, a senior researcher at the Polymers, Ceramics, and Technical Services Laboratories of Tyco Electronics in Menlo Park, California and Timothy L. Kelly, a NSERC post-doctoral fellow at UC San Diego co-authored the paper. The National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and TYCO Electronics provided funding for the work.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of California - San Diego. The original article was written by Susan Brown.

Journal Reference:

Timothy L. Kelly, Ting Gao, Michael J. Sailor. Carbon Nanofiber Photonic Crystals: Carbon and Carbon/Silicon Composites Templated in Rugate Filters for the Adsorption and Detection of Organic Vapors (Adv. Mater. 15/2011). Advanced Materials, 2011; 23 (15): 1688 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201190052

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here