Posted on 01/25/2010 7:34:39 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Although the U.S. won’t be able to meet the congressionally mandated goal of locating and cataloging most near-Earth objects 140 meters across or larger by 2020, it could come close to that deadline if a new space-based observatory is dedicated to the task in concert with a suitable ground-based telescope, according to a National Academies panel.
The panel’s final report, released Jan. 22, asserts that the combination of space- and ground-based observation is “the best approach,” and could complete the survey as early as 2022 if funds are appropriated quickly.
Alternately, if saving money is deemed more important than meeting deadlines, a large ground-based telescope could be built that should be able to complete the survey alone before 2030. However, “to achieve the intended cost-effectiveness, the funding to construct the telescope must come largely on the basis of non-NEO programs,” the report says.
The U.S. is the only country with an active, government-sponsored effort to detect and track potentially dangerous NEOs, and spends about $4 million annually on it. The panel’s interim report, released last August, concluded that NASA had not been given sufficient funding to meet the 2020 mandate, which was set by Congress in the 2005 George E. Brown, Jr. Near-Earth Object Survey Act (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 17).
While NASA is faring better with another congressional mandate — to detect and track 90 percent of planet-threatening NEOs one kilometer or greater in diameter — the 140-meter (460-foot) class objects still represent “a very significant threat to life on Earth if they strike in or near urban areas,” the report said. (See charts pp. 6-7.)
(Excerpt) Read more at aviationnow.com ...
These frakin telescopes are turning into money black holes.
Why spend the money, China and India will be using their telescopes from their moon bases soon!
I disagree, They are discovering new views of the universe and disproving old ideas and theories.
How many more telescopes do you need to discover such?
There are plenty of bandwith in the EM spectrum. The Gamma Ray Spectrometer has given us great insight in Gamma Ray Bursts. Gamma Rays are given off by Neutron Stars and Black Holes. Black holes and Pulsars are not viewed in the visible light. You can use the Gamma Ray spectrum.Gamma-ray spectrometers have been widely used for the elemental analysis of airless bodies in the Solar System, especially the Moon and Mars. These surfaces are subjected to a continual bombardment of high-energy cosmic rays, which excite nuclei in them to emit characteristic gamma-rays which can be detected from orbit.
You can use Gamma Rays to detect water from other planetary bodies.By measuring neutrons, it is possible to calculate the abundance of hydrogen, thus inferring the presence of water. The neutron detectors are sensitive to concentrations of hydrogen in the upper meter of the surface. When cosmic rays hit the surface of Mars, neutrons and gamma-rays come out of the soil.
>>>and spends about $4 million annually on it.
Meanwhile the standard cost for a flight-rated NASA spacesuit is about $12,000,000. Both seem good investments.
>>>These frakin telescopes are turning into money black holes.
A frakin asteroid taking out a city would leave a bigger black hole.
I agree.The object that excavated the crater was a nickel-iron meteorite about 50 meters (54 yards) across, which impacted the plain at a speed of several kilometers per second and carved out a crater about about 1,200 m (4,000 ft) in diameter, some 170 m deep (570 ft)
This is in regards to Meteor Crater in Arizona
This is in regards to Meteor Crater in Arizona
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