CME MISSES EARTH: A CME launched into space by a major solar flare on Nov. 29th has missed Earth. This is hardly a surprise. The blast site was located behind the sun's eastern limb; at most, a glancing blow was possible. Auroras watchers can take solice in the fact that direct hits will surely come in the months ahead as Solar Cycle 25 continues to intensify. It's just a matter of time. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
WHAT JUST FLEW PAST EARTH? In September 1966, NASA launched the Surveyor 2 lunar lander onboard an Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D rocket. Yesterday, the rocket came back. Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi photographed it flying past Earth only 30,000 miles away:
Surveyor 2's rocket booster was lost shortly after launch. If NASA analysts are correct, it spent the next 54 years circling the sun in an Earth-like orbit. On Sept. 17, 2020, astronomers at the Haleakala Observatory found it again, approaching its home planet. At first they thought it was a small asteroid, and named it "2020 SO", but Paul Chodas of NASA's Near Earth Object center at JPL realized it was more likely the rocket booster of Surveyor 2.
"The light curve seems consistent with the rocket theory," notes Masi. "It's rotating every 10 seconds."
This object is also a "mini-moon." In November, 2020 SO was captured by Earth's gravity. The booster is now following a complicated path around our planet expected to produce a second close approach in Feb. 2021. Then it will leave again in March. Spectroscopy obtained during yesterday's flyby may confirm that 2020 SO is a relic of the Apollo age. Stay tuned.
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THE ARECIBO RADIO TELESCOPE HAS COLLAPSED: Astronomy lost an icon yesterday, Dec. 1st, when the great Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico shockingly collapsed. At 6:55 am local time, a key cable snapped, dropping a million-pound dome onto the antenna below. One of three skyscraper-tall towers that supported the dome broke about halfway up.
Above: An aerial view of the Arecibo dish before the collapse.
The giant dish-shaped radio telescope was unlike any other: It sent messages to the stars, listened to the tick-tock of distant pulsars, helped keep Earth safe from asteroids, taught generations of students how to be astronomers, and so much more. This is a major loss.
To me, Dr. Tony Phillips, the loss is personal. I lived and worked at the observatory for more than 5 years in the 1990s while it was still operated by Cornell University. I ran around the dish thousands of times, logged hundreds of hours of observing time, climbed the cat walks and drove Jeeps across the jungle floor beneath the main antenna. The telescope's raw power attracted astronomers from around the world, including many Nobel Laureates; collaborating with them was a life-shaping experience. There may never be another telescope with the same mix of research chops and tropical personality. Good-bye, old friend.
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