376E-412-Tiny Space Rock

376E-412-Tiny Space Rock

Author: Albert D. Grauer February 17, 2026 Duration: 2:01
Eighteen hours before my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Rose Matheny first spotted a small space rock with our Schmidt telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona it had passed less than the Earth's diameter from the surface of our planet. Rose was able to discover this Smart Car sized space rock after it moved out of the Sun's glare. At this point it was about the Moon's distance from her and was traveling away at 3.4 mi/s. After Rose posted her discovery observations on the Minor Planet Center's Near Earth Object Confirmation page, for the next 24 hours it was tracked by telescopes in Spain, Illinois, and Arizona. Scientists at the Minor Planet Center used these data to calculate it's orbit around the Sun, estimate it's size and give it the name 2017 UJ2. This small asteroid had come near the Earth in 1978 but was invisible to the technology which astronomers had available at the time. 2017 UJ2 will not come close enough for us to detect in the foreseeable future, however, there are likely to be tens of millions of others like it which can come close to Earth. A small asteroid the size of Rose's discovery is likely to enter our atmosphere at least once a year and explodes at about 4 times higher than airliners fly. If such an event happened at night and you were lucky enough to see it you would be treated to a fantastic light show. If you are as lucky as a power ball winner you might even be able to find a piece of it on the ground.

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
267E-279-Hottest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The warming that is happening is having a variety of consequences. In the American midwest and northeast extreme heat, heavy rain storms, and flooding will impact agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, and air as well as…
779-What If An Asteroid is About To Impact Earth? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
A research project whoes goal is to explore if it would be possible, on short notice, to pulverize a small asteroid so that it would not enter the Earth’s atmosphere as a single object perhaps saving humanity from an ver…
266E-278-Nope [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
This is the story of the big one that got away. It illustrates the problem that there are a number of possible orbits which may fit a short arc of an object in the night sky. There may be scores of kilometer sized object…
778-Two Comets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Matching his wife’s discovery of two comets on the same observing run seven years previously my Catalina Sky Survey team caption Carson Fuls discovered two comets on consecutive nights. They have very different origins a…
265E-277-Old Girl [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Imagine a telescope old enough for Senior Citizen discounts, which has traveled between mountains, and started life with a metal mirror measuring one thing at time being equipped with a camera with 100 million pixels. Th…
777-Psyche Bound [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The NASA Psyche Spacecraft will use a multispectral imager, gamma and neutron spectrometers, and other instruments to map, measure, and characterize an unknown weird world.
264E-276-Big 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
During a 6 night observing run with the 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona, my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Carson Fuls discovered three new Potentially Hazardous Asteroids. They range in size from 600 to 1500 feet…
776-Naming Asteroids and Comets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Historically explorers in many fields of human endeavor have been granted the privilege to name their discovery. If you find a new comet and it receives enough followup observations it will carry your last name. Every ye…
263E-275-No Place Like Home [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Robotic spacecraft from Earth have been traveling around the solar system for decades. What they have found is that there may be a few places on which the toughest terrestrial life forms could exist but nowhere that you…
775-3 Close Approaches [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
During a six hour period three small space rocks passed through the Earth-Moon system. At discovery 2023 TO4 was in Pegasus, 2023 TD7 was in Aries , and 2023 TQ3 was in Eradanus.If 2023 TD7 had been an impactor David’s e…