343E-366-3 Explorers

343E-366-3 Explorers

Author: Albert D. Grauer July 1, 2025 Duration: 2:01
Recently, my Grandsons, Dane and Hank joined our asteroid hunting team at the Catalina Sky Survey 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon. The most interesting of our discoveries, 2017 KJ32 is only 16 feet in diameter, orbits the Sun once every 315 days, and can come closer to us than the communications satellites. 4 days and 16 hours before Dane, Hank, and I spotted it, 2017 KJ32 passed about 41,000 miles from the surface of Earth traveling at a relatively slow speed for an Earth approaching asteroid of 1.6 mi/sec. By the time 2017 KJ32 came into one of our images it was already 768,000 miles from Earth and was traveling away from us at 1.5 miles per second. A few weeks later it was too faint to be detected by our most powerful telescopes.

Each episode of Travelers In The Night feels like a quiet, personal conversation under a dark sky. Hosted by astronomer Dr. Albert D. Grauer, this podcast brings the distant cosmos into sharp, intimate focus. Dr. Grauer isn't just an observer; he's an active participant in the hunt, working with the Catalina Sky Survey team that has consistently discovered near-Earth asteroids for years. In these brief and engaging segments, you'll hear firsthand accounts of what it's like to track these ancient celestial travelers-the asteroids and comets that silently pass by our world. The discussions move beyond simple facts to explore the real-world implications of these discoveries, from planetary defense to the sheer wonder of our dynamic solar system. Accompanied by the contemplative music of John Lyell's "Eternity," each installment offers a moment of calm reflection on humanity's place in the universe. It’s a perfect blend of grounded science and cosmic curiosity, making complex astronomical concepts accessible and deeply fascinating. For anyone who has ever looked up and wondered what's out there moving in the dark, this podcast provides a direct line to the front lines of discovery.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 1000

Travelers In The Night
Podcast Episodes
292E-310-Ethics and Mars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Should martian microbes be sacrificed to human space exploration?It is unlikely that any living organism could survive being blasted from the surface of a planet, travel through interstellar space on a meteoroid, survive…
804-Tracie's Solo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
After months of training Tracie came full circle during her first solo 3 night observing run on the 60 inch telescope as she hosted groups of visitors as the observer instead of the tour guide.
291E-309-Tiny Atira [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Atira, named for the Pawnee goddess of Earth and the Morning and Evening Star orbits the Sun inside of our path. Atira, the first of this type of asteroid, was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research Progr…
803-Monster NEO [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Since larger space rocks are rare, it was surprising when my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Hannes Groller found a half mile diameter asteroid traveling through the constellation of Auriga.Fortunately on it’s current path…
290E-306-Egg Rock [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Egg rock's chemical composition and visual appearance is so different from other native Mars rocks that scientists have concluded that it is a meteorite which came from the molten core of an ancient asteroid.
802-Bok Comet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Kacper Wierzchos was asteroid hunting in the constellation of Draco with the Steward Observatory Bok 90 inch telescope on Kitt Peak, Arizona when he discovered a faint fuzzy object moving…
289E-305-Murky [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
It was murky cloudy night on Mt. Lemmon where I was trying to find Earth approaching objects with the Catalina Sky Survey 60 inch telescope. At about 1AM another hole in the clouds opened and I could see stars on the all…
801-Jacqui's PHA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Jacqueline Fazekas was asteroid hunting with our small but mighty Schmidt telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona when she spotted and then reported a bright moving point of light in the night s…
288E-304-Close One [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Rose Matheny had no way of knowing that the fast moving point of light that she had just discovered would create such a stir. Rose sent in her discovery and followup observations to the Mi…
800-Telescope Reborn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
In an astonishing rebirth, the Mayall 4-m telescope has jumped to the forefront of astronomy once again because it is sturdy and precise enough to carry the massive Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument which routinely ob…