Since 2006, the European Near Earth Asteroids Research (EURONEAR)project has been contributing to the research of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) within a European network. One of the main aims is the amelioration of the orbits of NEAs, and starting in 2014 February we focus on the recovery of one-opposition NEAs using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) in La Palma in override mode. As a part of this NEA recovery project, since 2014 June EURONEAR serendipitously started to discover and secure the first NEAs from La Palma using the INT, and thanks to the teamwork including amateurs and students who promptly reduce the data, to report discoveries and secure new objects recovered with the INT and few other telescopes from the EURONEAR network. Five NEAs were discovered with the INT, including 2014 LU14, 2014 NL52 (one very fast rotator), 2014 OL339 (the fourth known Earth quasi-satellite), 2014 SG143 (a quite large NEA), and 2014 VP. Another very fast moving NEA was discovered but was unfortunately lost due to lack of follow-up time. Additionally, another 14 NEA candidates were identified based on two models, all being rapidly followed-up using the INT and another 11 telescopes within the EURONEAR network. They include one object discovered by Pan-STARRS, two Mars crossers, two Hungarias, one Jupiter trojan, and other few inner main belt asteroids (MBAs). Using the INT and Sierra Nevada 1.5 m for photometry, then the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) for spectroscopy, we derived the very rapid rotation of 2014 NL52, its albedo, magnitude, size, and its spectral class. Based on the total sky coverage in dark conditions, we evaluate the actual survey discovery rate using 2-m class telescopes. One NEA is possible to be discovered randomly within minimum 2.8 deg2 and maximum 5.5 deg2. These findings update our past statistics, being based on double sky coverage and taking into account the recent increase in discovery.
Advertised on
References
It may interest you
-
There is increasing evidence that single-star evolutionary models are unable to reproduce all of the observational properties of massive stars. Binary interaction has emerged as a key factor in the evolution of a significant fraction of massive stars. In this study, we investigate the helium (Y(He)) and nitrogen surface abundances in a comprehensive sample of 180 Galactic O-type stars with projected rotational velocities of ≤150 km/s. We found a subsample (~20% of the total, and ~80% of the stars with Y(He) ≥ 0.12) with a Y(He) and nitrogen abundance combined pattern that is unexplainable byAdvertised on
-
The properties of blue supergiants are key for constraining the end of the main sequence phase, a phase during which massive stars spend most of their lifetimes. The lack of fast-rotating stars below 21.000K, a temperature around which stellar winds change in behaviour, has been proposed to be caused by enhanced mass-loss rates, which would spin down the star. Alternatively, the lack of fast-rotating stars may be the result of stars reaching the end of the main sequence. Here, we combine newly derived estimates of photospheric and wind parameters, wind terminal velocities from the literatureAdvertised on
-
The development of the latest generation of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) over recent decades has led to the discovery of new extreme astrophysical phenomena in the very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray regime. Time-domain and multi-messenger astronomy are inevitably connected to the physics of transient VHE emitters, which show unexpected (and mostly unpredictable) flaring or exploding episodes at different timescales. These transients often share the physical processes responsible for the production of the gamma-ray emission, through cosmic-ray accelerationAdvertised on