ARLA/CLUSTER: Escute em 2380 MHz os reflexos do radar de observação de asteróide no próximo dia 26 de Janeiro

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Listen-in to 2380 MHz radar observations of asteroid

On January 26, 2015 the near-Earth asteroid 2004 BL86 will pass within
0.008 AU of Earth (3.1 times as far away as the Moon). This will be
the closest approach to Earth by this asteroid for at least the next
240 years

As part of an extensive campaign of radar observations to learn about
BL86's shape, spin state, and surface; and to refine knowledge of its
trajectory; the Arecibo Observatory's S-band planetary radar plans to
illuminate the asteroid with a continuous-wave signal over January 27,
2015 03:45 - 04:00 UTC. Over that time, BL86's radar echo will be
received by elements of the Very Long Baseline Array and the Very
Large Array in New Mexico. Anyone with an antenna and receiver capable
of detecting the echo is welcome to listen in.

BL86 will be above the horizon for most observers in North and South
America, and for some parts of western Europe and western Africa. To
readily detect its radar echo, observers should have an antenna with
an effective collecting area of at least 10 square meters. BL86 will
be moving rapidly across the sky. Over Jan 27 03:45 - 04:00, it will
move by ~0.5º. The asteroid's exact position on the sky will depend on
where it is observed from as well as the time, but will be near
(RA,Dec) = (130º,+17º). A current ephemeris can be obtained from JPL's
Horizons system: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?horizons

The Arecibo transmission will be tuned to give a nominal echo center
frequency of exactly 2380 MHz at geocenter. Without correction for
Earth's rotation, BL86's radar echo will appear as slowly-drifting and
within 15 kHz of 2380 MHz. Predicted echo frequency as a function of
time for a given location can be obtained on-request by emailing
Michael Busch (mbusch  seti.org). We expect an echo bandwidth of 6 Hz
or less.

Details of the BL86 radar observing campaign at the Arecibo
Observatory, NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar facility, and the
National Radio Astronomy Observatory are available at
http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/2004BL86/2004BL86_planning.html