UNT's Monroe Robotic Observatory watches asteroid 2004 XP14 approach Earth
By UNT News Service
Jul 3, 2006
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DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Researchers at the University of North Texas watched the asteroid 2004 XP14 fly past the Earth after dark late on July 2 (Sunday). Telescopes at UNT's Monroe Robotic Observatory in Cooke County, north of Gainesville, were trained on the asteroid as it passed more than 268,600 miles from the Earth. This was the first major asteroid fly-by captured by the Monroe Observatory since it opened in 2002. The telescopes were be controlled at the UNT campus in Denton.

"We are hoping to take a series of pictures of the asteroid as it approaches," Ron DiIulio said before the fly-by.  Dilulio is director of the astronomy lab program at the University of North Texas. He added, "We can make an animation from the pictures, and use that in our astronomy labs."

DiIulio says there are two things that the UNT researchers are hoping to see as the asteroid approaches. "We are going to look at how the light is reflecting off the asteroid, and does the light level change as it passes. We can use that to see if it is tumbling or spinning as it passes the Earth."

DiIulio says the changes in light can also provide clues on the composition of the asteroid. "Some astronomers think that asteroids and comets are closely related and that asteroids are comets that no longer have their icy exterior. Studying 2004 XP14 may provide clues on the relationship between comets and asteroids," he says.

The 2004 XP14 asteroid is believed to be about half a mile wide. It is part of a group of asteroids, collectively known as Apollo, that cross the orbit of the Earth. 2004 XP14 will pass at roughly the distance between the Earth and the Moon

DiIulio and the UNT planetarium program have been cited for their participation in NASA's Space Place public education and outreach program. He is also overseeing the establishment of the Rafes Urban Astronomy Center near Denton Municipal Airport. It will house the lab portion of UNT's astronomy program, which is the largest non-science major program of its kind in the nation.

For more information, contact DiIulio at (940) 369-7655, or starman@unt.edu.