KILLER ASTEROID PROJECT

Virtual Impactor Observations in

NASA's Near Earth Object

Observations Program

This project is supported by NASA grants NNX07AR16G and EPO-07-813

Virtual Impactor Observations Page 2008-2009 School Year

This table represents Virtual Impactor observations made in the Killer Asteroid Project.  This table contains Near Earth Objects that have been measured by students and instructors with data sent to the Minor Planet Center that were removed as a Virtual Impactor risk.  All participating schools and students will be recognized for their astrometric measures to the MPC.  Schools and students with incomplete data in this table, please contact the Astronomical Research Institute with additional information.  More information about Virtual Impactors may be found at the end of this page.  See this important page for details on observations for the removal of 2008FL7 as a Virtual Impactor by Sergio Foglia.

42 Virtual Impactors Removed by ARO Observations

2009-2010 School Year

About Virtual Impactors

Whenever a newly discovered NEA is posted on the Sentry Impact Risk Page, by far the most likely outcome is that the object will eventually be removed as new observations become available, the object's orbit is improved, and its future motion is more tightly constrained. As a result, several new NEAs each month may be listed on the Sentry Impact Risk page, only to be removed shortly afterwards. This is a normal process, completely expected. The removal of an object from the Impact Risk page does not indicate that the object's risk was evaluated mistakenly: the risk was real until additional observations showed that it was not.   For more details concerning Virtual Impact risks, visit the NASA/JPL website at http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/doc/sentry.html

List of Virtual Impactors