344E-367-Future Impactor

344E-367-Future Impactor

Author: Albert D. Grauer July 8, 2025 Duration: 2:01
My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Carson Fuls discovered a 33 foot diameter asteroid which has about a 1.1% chance of impacting the Earth on 569 encounters with our planet between 2045 and 2116. Its name is 2017 LD. It is on the list of the most likely objects to strike the Earth in the next hundred years as reported on NASA's Sentry Earth Impact Monitoring table. Even so, given our current data, there is a 98.9% chance that 2017 LD will not enter our atmosphere on any of its close approaches to Earth in the next 100 years.

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: 100

Travelers In The Night
Podcast Episodes
869-Taurid Resonant Swarm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The planets, millions of asteroids, tens of thousands of comets, distant icy worlds, and countless other bits and pieces of material orbit the Sun. A group of such co-orbiting objects is called the Taurid complex or swar…
356E-386-Interplanetary Sand Traps [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
When the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa [Hi ya Boo sa] visited the near Earth asteroid Itokawa in 2005 it found this 2000 foot by 800 foot elliptical world to have a variety of surface features. Instead of being a solid ob…
868-Inside Venus [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Astronomers have discovered some 1.4 million asteroids. Approximately 35,000 of these space rocks come near Earth. Less than 40 of them are classified as being Atira asteroids whose orbits lie entirely within the Earth’s…
355E-383-Moon Water [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The lunar roving, battery powered, 4 wheel drive "Moon Buggy" allowed astronauts on Apollo 15, 16, and 17 to travel 8 mph on the lunar surface with a maximum range of approximately 4.7 mi. Some of the rocks that these sp…
867-Daytime Fireball [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Dr. Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office reports that on June 26, 2025 shortly after noon a beachball sized meteoroid traveling at approximately 30,000 miles per hour broke up about 27 miles above the town o…
354E-382-Martian Debris [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Martian Trojan asteroids have stable orbits around the Sun, leading and trailing the red planet by 60 degrees, where the Sun's and Mars's gravity are balanced. For some time astronomers have considered it unlikely that t…
866-Interstellar Visitor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Amazingly, nature occasionally sends an interstellar traveler through our solar system for us to observe. The third such object that astronomers have discovered coming into our solar system from truly deep space is 3I/AT…
353E-381-Peaceful Star [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The Sun is our very own well behaved star. It rises and sets in our sky every day and powers and makes possible all life forms on planet Earth. A new appreciation for our Sun is growing as we learn more about other suns…
865-New Potentially Hazardous Asteroid [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
On a a short June night my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Greg Leonard was observing with our 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona in the constellation of Ursa Major when a relatively bright fast moving point of light…
352E-379-Flying Mud Balls [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
75% of asteroid hunter's discoveries are called C type asteroids. They are dark, have a high abundance of carbon, consist of clay and silicate rocks, and may have a composition which is up to 22% water. Recently Dr. Phil…