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
92E-104-Jupiter Trojan Confusion [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Humans know of approximately half million main belt asteroids orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. We have also found approximately 11,000 Earth approaching asteroids. Members of these two groups can be recognized…
603-Discovering Alien Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Our star is only one among hundreds of billions in the Milky Way galaxy which itself is only one of a hundred billion or more galaxies in the known universe. How can it be that humans are the only creatures to look at th…
91E-103-Small Asteroids In Earth-like Orbits [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Four days after it made its closest approach to Earth, I found a 10 foot diameter asteroid with the NASA funded University of Arizona 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon. At that point it was 838,000 miles from us and was mo…
602-Solar Flares [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Some stars can have flares which can cause them to more than double in brightness in a few minutes. Fortunately our Sun does not do that and the Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field protect humans from the smaller flare…
90E-102-Little Asteroid On An Inside Track [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
2014 US7 is called an Aten [Ah tin] type of asteroid. The first of its type was discovered by Dr. Eleanor Key Francis "Glo" Helin in 1976. She was an American astronomer who discovered more than 800 asteroids and several…
601-Phaethon's Child [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Phaethon (Faith on) is a strange, 4 mile diameter, blueish asteroid. It travels on an orbit which comes so close to the Sun that its exterior is heated to 1,500 F. When you go out to view the Geminids in December you mig…
600-Big and Close [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Hannes Groeller was asteroid hunting in the constellation of Pegasus with our 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona when he discovered a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid . Rest assured th…
88E-100-Where Extension Cords Can't Reach [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Marie Curie's discovery of radioactivity started humans on a path which so far has skirted annihilation and has led to cures for cancer and the exploration of the distant regions of our solar system.If you want to get an…
599-Path to Mars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The human thirst for knowledge about our mysterious next door neighbor is about to receive more than a sip from robotic emissaries launched in 2020. Recently a group of scientists point out that by having astronauts fly…