Chasing Asteroids
Some people use their Land Rovers as toys - 4 wheeling on weekends for the sake of testing their driving skills and the capabilities of the vehicles. Others go on extended travel and see the land from the dirt county roads and forest trails. For many, they are simply work vehicles.
Me, I like to chase asteroids.
When an asteroid passes in front of a star, it creates a narrow "eclipse" or occultation track over the face of the planet. This track is very narrow, only as wide as the asteroid itself, and as more accurate observations are made can shift around by hundreds of miles on the ground. With a few hours notice an updated ground track is published to those amateur astronomers with desire and equipment. The goal (and thus the challenge) is to get into the track with observational equipment to time the occultation - how long does the asteroid cut the starlight. When a few people spread along the track do this, a physical profile of the asteroid can be created.
The occultation track of 245 Vera over the central US and eastern Canada.
The timing of the occultation provides a "chord" of the asteroid. With multiple observers spread out in the track acting as sort of a visual "net," multiple chords can be recorded and a very accurate profile of the asteroid can be obtained.
For this endeavor, the Land Rover is an ideal support vehicle for me. It provides the capability to get away from roads and populated areas that can spoil an observation in all seasons.
For me, this is just another example of how Land Rover has been a part of scientific exploration since it's inception 50 years ago.
December 1998 - Tracking 245 Vera
Next Up: 234 Brenda (Jan. 27, 1999)
Coming soon: 77 Frigga and 40 Harmonia
