The Viking is raiding - what a great outing by Harrysson.
Making a huge jump in the World Ranking! #pdc2025
What a fantastic week we have had in Stellenbosch for #PDC2025! You can really sense how much #PlanetaryDefense has advanced in the last years and how many people is now involved in it!
Looking already forward for #PDC2027 in #Montreal!!!
@operations.esa.int
The 1963 August 3 airburst over the southern ocean was the largest impact after Tunguska and before Chelyabinsk: aquarid.physics.uwo.ca/infra_pub/Es...
But nobody was there, so it was not a problem.
And, once more, the #PDC2025 hypothetical impact scenario was only a test.
For anyone wondering:
The #PDC2025 asteroid impact hypothetical scenario progresses with the possibility of a partial deflection; moving the asteroid south to airburst harmlessly over the southern ocean.
Compare to what actually happened on 1963 August 3: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#PDC2025 also had multiple comments about "planetary defense" as a term being confusing, as well as far too military.
And that would be why I personally prefer to simply talk about the impact hazard.
#PDC2025 wraps up with a question-and-answer session.
Question: "What about SpaceX?"
Answer: SpaceX has no plans for doing anything beyond Earth orbit. It just sells rockets to the agencies that do.
#PDC2025 continues today with discussion of the importance of providing accurate information about the impact hazard: iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont... .
From things like real images of actual asteroids to "don't immediately run to the window to see what that flash was" if there is another Chelyabinsk.
Last day of #PDC2025! What a great conference we are having! We are starting today with a session on public communication on planetary defence. @djsnm.extwitter.link is with us and making great contributions to the discussion!
@operations.esa.int
It is striking to read this at the same time that #PDC2025 is having a discussion about how to effectively address disinformation about asteroid impacts.
#PDC2025 features a few talks about having small satellites left on orbit to fly past any asteroids that may require investigation.
Precedents here are Comet Interceptor and also Chang'e 2 flying by Toutatis in 2012; although it was not designed for that.
Occultation data suggests that Dimorphos is considerably less dense than Didymos, or at least was before the #DARTMission impact.
Need more data; for which the #HeraMission is on the way.
#PDC2025
Steve Chesley describes the heliocentric orbit change for Didymos from the #DARTMission impact, rather that the orbit change of Dimorphos about Didymos.
~12 microns/second, measured by occultation timing.
Lots of science from chasing shadows.
#PDC2025
#PDC2025 resumes with @schmemela.bsky.social leading discussion of different asteroid deflection methods; including both the #DARTMission & other work on kinetic impact deflection and things like gravity tractor deflection.
Wir freuen uns riesig auf euch, ihr macht den PDC zu dem, was er ist.
#inselpoel #pdc2025 #hannover96 #zuhausebeifreunden
And now, our colleague Maxime Devogele speaks at #PDC2025 of the workshop that we had last year at ESA’s #ESOC on the determination of the size of NEOs.
@operations.esa.int
Our astronomer Marco Micheli now presenting at #PDC2025 the NEO follow up activities performed at ESA PDO’s NEO Coordination Centre #NEOCC.
@operations.esa.int
Thobekile Sandra Ngwane, University of Cape Town:
"The Rapid-Response Fully-Automated NEA Follow-Up Program with the SAAO's 1-m Lesedi Telescope" - iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont...
#PDC2025
. @asrivkin.bsky.social et al. at #PDC2025 : "JWST As a Tool for Early Characterization of Potential Impactors" - iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont...
Considering #2024YR4 and other objects.
Discussions follow at #PDC2025 with a panel on the International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence, 2029.
@operations.esa.int
#PDC2025 reviews the impact of satellite streaks on the asteroid discovery surveys.
They continue to be a nuisance; but are manageable. And they remain concentrated into twilight data where detections were already tricky.
Krisztián Sárneczky, discoverer of 3 very small asteroids before they impacted Earth, discusses his current project from the Piszkéstető Station observatory outside of Budapest.
#PDC2025
Good morning from Stellenbosch! Our colleague Rainer Kresken is presenting this morning ESA’s NEOCC survey strategies at #PDC2025.
@operations.esa.int
Day 3 of #PDC2025 begins with status reports on asteroid discovery surveys; both the current ones and upcoming new surveys like those by @vrubinobs.bsky.social and NEO Surveyor.
How to find all the asteroids.
Marta Ceccaroni has analyzed the effect of the #Apophis flyby in 2029 on debris in the graveyard orbits past geosynch.
Collision avoidance planning may need to take the perturbations into account - up to ~10 m in months after the flyby.
#PDC2025
Our ESA colleague Luca Conversi is presenting the current status of the #NEOMIR mission at #PDC2025.
@operations.esa.int
Addendum:
I forgot the link to Makoto Yoshikawa's #PDC2025 presentation: iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont...
Including how Hayabusa 2 could have been used to deflect 2024 YR4, if that had been necessary.
#TeamRadar presentations at #PDC2025, continued:
Pupillo et al., "Radar Observation of Asteroids 2005 LW3 and 2006 WB with European Radio Telescopes" - iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont... .
Venditti et al., "The potentially hazardous binary asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2" - iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont...
#TeamRadar presentations at #PDC2025, continued:
Calves et al., "Radar and optical tracking of Near-Earth Objects at the University of Tasmania" iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont...
Horiuchi et al., "Southern Hemisphere Asteroid Radar Program (SHARP)" iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont...
#TeamRadar presentations at #PDC2025 :
Benner et al., "Status of Near-Earth Asteroid Radar Observations at Goldstone" iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont...
Brozovic et al., "3D shape model and spin state of 99942 Apophis estimated from 2013 radar and lightcurve data" iaa.4hdt.ro/event/1/cont...
Leviticus Lewis, now formerly of FEMA, reminds everyone at #PDC2025 about the importance of establishing and maintaining effective disaster-response organizations.
For all natural disasters and hazards. Not just rocks falling from the sky.