Help Astronomers Name Large Kuiper Belt Asteroid

  
This graphic shows the known objects in the Kuiper Belt (small objects farthest from the Sun, which is in the center); also shown are the four largest Solar System planets: Jupiter Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
(Image Sources: Wikpedia.org, By WilyD at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38097918)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

Astronomers are asking for the public's help to choose a name for the largest object in our Solar System's Kuiper Belt which does not presently have a normal name [other than a scientific designation number: Kuiper Belt Object (225088) 2007 OR10].

From the “2007” in its designation, you can tell it was only found in 2007, just 12 years ago. This was the result of larger and larger Earth telescopes, as well as space telescopes, continually looking for new and unknown objects in space.

This object is known as a Trans-Neptunian object, because it is located beyond the orbit of Neptune, the eighth and farthest major planet from the Sun. As many may recall, about 13 years ago another, well-known Trans-Neptunian planet, Pluto (which was visited by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft on 2015 July 14) was re-designated as a “Dwarf Planet.”

Along with Kuiper Belt Object (225088) 2007 OR10, Pluto is now also considered a part of the Kuiper Belt, which includes more than 3,000 small objects consisting of ice, dust, and rock. Pluto is now the largest known Kuiper Belt object.

Further out in the Solar System is another group of objects forming, what is called, the Oort Cloud. It is believed that most comets are formed in the Oort Cloud.

Although smaller than Pluto, Kuiper Belt Object (225088) 2007 OR10 is about one-third the diameter of Earth's Moon and much larger than many other moons in the Solar System. Kuiper Belt Object (225088) 2007 OR10 is thought to have a diameter of about 776 statute miles / 1250 kilometers; however, due to the great distance to the object, the exact diameter is not known. In its orbit around the Sun, at its closest to the Sun, Kuiper Belt Object (225088) 2007 OR10 is still 33 astronomical units (a.u. - one astronomical unit is the average distance from the Sun to the Earth: 93 million statute miles / 150 kilometers) from Earth; at its farthest distance: 101 a.u.

Kuiper Belt Object (225088) 2007 OR10 was given its designation number 225088 in November of 2009 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU is responsible for naming celestial bodies. And, there is a ten-year deadline for coming-up with a name for these objects. So, the new name must be agreed-upon by this November.

Astronomers Meg Schwamb, Mike Brown, and David Rabinowitz discovered this object using a large telescope at Palomar Observatory near San Diego; unfortunately, small consumer telescopes cannot see this very small and distant object. These three astronomers have suggested three possible names for the object: Gonggong (from a Chinese water god), Holle (a Germanic goddess of many things, including agriculture), and Vili (a Norse deity who was the brother of Odin). Yes, they are all mythological names, for good reason: this is an IAU requirement for naming such Kuiper Belt objects.

Although the astronomical deadline for naming the object is in November, the deadline for the public to weigh-in on this decision is coming-up fast: Friday Evening, 2019 May 10 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PDT) / May 11 at 2:59 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 6:59 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). If you wish to vote on one of these three names, you must do so by this deadline.

Go to the following Internet web-site to vote on your choice for naming Kuiper Belt Object (225088) 2007 OR10, as well as to learn more about the object:

Link >>> https://2007or10.name/

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

Kuiper Belt Object (225088) 2007 OR10:
Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(225088)_2007_OR10

Kuiper Belt: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuiper_belt

Dwarf Planet Pluto: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto

Oort Cloud: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud

Astronomical Unit: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_unit

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
              Friday, 2019 April 26.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >

NASA Studying Earth Bacteria in Space from ISS to Human Waste on the Moon!

            
In this image from a black-and-white, live telecast from the Moon, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set-foot on another planetary body, other than Earth: Sunday Evening, 1969 July 20, 10:56:20 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / July 21, 2:56:20 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). In addition to leaving footprints on the Moon, the twelve NASA astronauts left 96 bags of human waste!
(Image Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.com, By National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA's Apollo 11 Multimedia webpage, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=433831)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

As plans continue to be made for human space flight to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, NASA continues to study the several challenges to sending people beyond low-Earth orbit, where the International Space Station is located. Some of these challenges include cosmic radiation, the effect of micro-gravity on bones, muscles, and eyes, and even the bacteria each one of us carries with us wherever we go.

Last week, NASA released a study of the microbiome of the International Space Station (ISS) which examined the bacteria and fungi present and viable. This microbiome is formed from microbes flaking off the astronauts / cosmonauts (usually around six on-board at a time), as well as from cargo received at the ISS four-to-six times a year.

It was found that four times more microbes were viable on the ISS, when the microbes have a nutrient-rich source, compared to spacecraft assembly cleanrooms. It was determined that, unlike on Earth, most of these microbes were from animal skin sources (i.e. mostly human sources); on Earth, more soil microbiomes are found.

NASA is looking for “opportunistic pathogens” which could harm astronauts in space. Their research is trying to determine how possible pathogens might be affected by the space environment, including radiation and micro-gravity.

“Spaceflight can turn harmless bacteria into potential pathogens,” senior study author Elisabeth Grohmann, a professor at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, said in a statement. “Just as stress hormones leave astronauts vulnerable to infection, the bacteria they carry become hardier developing thick protective coatings and resistance to antibiotics--and more vigorous, multiplying and metabolizing faster.”

And, some microbes can form biofilms, that is structures that can glue microbes to one-another, as well as to solid surfaces. NASA is concerned that such biofilms may be more resistant to antibiotics available on the ISS, should an astronaut become infected by a pathogen. Scientists also want to determine if bacteria and fungi which cause corrosion on Earth could do the same thing in deep-space vehicles.

Recently, tests of a new anti-microbial coating, called AGXX, have been conducted on the International Space Station. This new silver and ruthenium-based coating showed promise in greatly reducing the amount of bacteria on contamination-prone surfaces.

“Immunosuppression, bacterial virulence and therefore infection risk increase with duration of spaceflight,” Dr. Grohmann said. “We must continue to develop new approaches to combat bacterial infections if we are to attempt longer missions to Mars and beyond. For our part, we are continuing to analyze the antimicrobial performance of AGXX, most recently aboard the joint IBMP-NASA SIRIUS 18/9 isolation mission.”

Once we return to the Moon, NASA also plans to study the 96 bags of human waste, “urine, food waste, vomit, and other waste,” left by the twelve Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon 50 years ago. This waste was tossed to the lunar surface in white “jett” jettison bags before the astronauts left the Moon.

Of course, the question is whether bacteria in the jett bags could survive over the last five decades. According to the NASA report, if microbes in this human waste can survive for 50 years in the harsh lunar environment, such microbes could possibly survive interplanetary or even interstellar travel and possibly seed life on other planets visited by spacecraft from Earth.

Folklore over the years, and in later years promoted by the Internet, states that microbes were found living on a camera launched to the Moon in April of 1967, aboard the Surveyor 3 unmanned lander spacecraft. This camera had been returned to Earth by astronauts from the Apollo 12 mission in November of 1969, which had landed close to Surveyor 3 specifically for the purpose of studying the remains of the unmanned spacecraft.

However, by 2011 the conclusion that microbes had survived on Surveyor 3 for more than two years was highly in-question. NASA researchers concluded that re-contamination of the camera, either in the Apollo 12 capsule during the trip back to Earth, or during the evaluation of the camera back on Earth, could account for the microbes found on the camera.

On the Apollo 16 mission in April of 1972, the astronauts perfomed an experiment where nine species of microbes were exposed to the harsh environment on the outside of the spacecraft for a few days. Many of these microbes did survive, but again, only for a few days.

Once NASA astronauts can get back to the Moon, they can determine if the bacteria in the “poop” from 50 years ago were also able to survive.

University of Florida scientist Andrew Schuerger told Vox.com that it is unlikely that any microbes in the human waste from the Apollo missions did survive, “But it’s the highest probability [out] of anything that landed on the moon.”

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

Linh Anh Cat. "4 Discoveries About Microbes On The International Space Station."
Forbes Magazine 2019 April 17.
Link >>> https://www.forbes.com/sites/linhanhcat/2019/04/17/microbes-international-space-station/#60ddee643ef8

Walter, Kenny. "New Antimicrobial Coating Protects Astronauts From Superbugs in Space."
R&D Magazine 2019 March 22.
Link >>> https://www.rdmag.com/news/2019/03/new-antimicrobial-coating-protects-astronauts-superbugs-space

Resnick, Brian. "Apollo astronauts left their poop on the moon. We gotta go back for that shit."
Vox.com 2019 April 1.
Link >>> https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/3/22/18236125/apollo-moon-poop-mars-science

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
              Thursday, 2019 April 18.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh - Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >

Astro-Calendar: April / Possible GPS Date & Time Problem April 6

Artist's conception of GPS Block II-F satellite in Earth orbit.
(Image Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.org, By NASA - http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/ftp/gps/ggeninfo/gps-iif.tif[dead link] (Wayback Machine), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=564265)
 April 6 will mark a critical "Week Number Roll-Over Event" which could affect the date and time functions on some GPS receivers. Since GPS began in 1980, this will only be the second time this event has happened, which occurs about once every 19.7 years.
More info: Link >>> https://www.gps-repeaters.com/blog/gps-week-number-rollover-april-6th-2019/

Astronomical Calendar for 2019 April ---
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/astrocalendar/2019.html#apr

 Related Blog Post ---

"Astro-Calendar: March / 1st SpaceX Crew Dragon Launch March 2."

2019 March. 1.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2019/03/astro-calendar-march-1st-crew-dragon.html

Source: Friends of the Zeiss.
              Monday, 2019 April 1.

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            More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
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                Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your in-box ?
                Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >