Related papers: Identification of a Minimoon Fireball
We studied the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) candidates posted on the Minor Planet Center's Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page (NEOCP) between years 2013 and 2016. Out of more than 17,000 NEA candidates, while the majority became either new…
We have analysed the orbits and ablation characteristics in the atmosphere of 59 earth-impacting fireballs, produced by meteoroids one meter in diameter or larger, described here as meter-scale. Using heights at peak luminosity as a proxy…
In meteor physics the luminous efficiency ${\tau}$ is used to convert the meteor's magnitude to the corresponding meteoroid's mass. However, lack of sufficiently accurate verification methods or adequate laboratory tests leave this…
All-sky imaging surveys have identified several dozen isolated planetary-mass objects (IPMOs), far away from any star. Here, we examine the prospects for detecting transiting moons around these objects. We expect transiting moons to be…
Space-based observatories at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange Point (L2) offer a unique opportunity to efficiently determine the orbits of distant solar system objects by taking advantage of the parallax effect that arises from nearly…
From CCD observations of a fixed and large star field that contained the binary TNO Orcus, we have been able to derive high-precision relative astrometry and photometry of the Orcus system with respect to background stars. The RA residuals…
Jupiter family comets contribute a significant amount of debris to near-Earth space. However, telescopic observations of these objects seem to suggest they have short physical lifetimes. If this is true, the material generated will also be…
We report an instrumental observation of the very exceptional Geminid fireball which was observed in scope of the Czech part of the European Fireball Network (EN) on 13 December 2012 at 4h12m59.4s UT. The uniqueness of this Geminid fireball…
Despite ablation and drag processes associated with atmospheric entry of meteoroids were a subject of intensive study over the last century, little attention was devoted to interpret the observed fireball terminal height. This is a key…
So-called 'dark comets' are small, morphologically inactive near-Earth objects (NEOs) that exhibit nongravitational accelerations inconsistent with radiative effects. These objects exhibit short rotational periods (minutes to hours), where…
The first meter-scale interstellar meteor (IM1) was detected by US government sensors in 2014, identified as an interstellar object candidate in 2019, and confirmed by the Department of Defense (DoD) in 2022. We use data from a nearby…
Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in the outer Solar System are predominantly small, icy worlds long presumed to be atmosphereless except for the largest bodies. Until now, Pluto has been unique among TNOs in exhibiting a substantial…
We investigate the observation of meteors with video cameras in stratospheric balloons, overcoming tropospheric handicaps like weather and extinction. We have studied the practical implementation of the idea, designed and tested…
On 2010 October 13, the Apollo type 20-meter asteroid 2010 TB54 passed within 6.1 lunar distances from the Earth. On the same date, but 11.4 hours earlier, exactly at 02:52:32 UT, the sky over central Poland was illuminated by -8.6…
On December 22, 2020 at about 23h 23m 33s UTC a very bright fireball was seen in the sky of south-eastern China. The fireball lasted for several seconds and ended with an atmospheric explosion that was detected by US surveillance…
Accurate measurements of osculating orbital elements are essential in order to understand and model the complex dynamic behavior of Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs). ESA's Gaia mission promises to have great potential in this respect. In this…
We analyzed data from the first year of a survey for Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that we are carrying out with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the 4-meter Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. We implanted…
Context. The Arjuna asteroid belt is loosely defined as a diverse group of small asteroids that follow dynamically cold, Earth-like orbits. Most of them are not actively engaged in resonant, co-orbital behavior with Earth. Some of them…
The earliest confirmed interstellar object, `Oumuamua, was discovered in the Solar System by Pan-STARRS in 2017, allowing for a calibration of the abundance of interstellar objects of its size $\sim 100\;$ m. This was followed by the…
Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) is a major survey of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). In a recent work, we used CSS observations from 2005-2012 to develop a new population model of NEOs (NEOMOD). CSS's G96 telescope was upgraded in 2016 and detected…