Travelers in the Night Eps. 329 & 330: Near Neighbor & Comet Johnson

Sep 7, 2025

Join Dr. Al Grauer as he uncovers thrilling astronomical discoveries! A new space rock, 2017 AG13, zooms past Earth every 345 days and recently passed within 9 lunar distances. Don’t worry, it won't return until 2091. Then, learn about Comet Johnson, traveling from deep space with a chance to be seen by the naked eye. Though it stays 75 million miles away, its outgassing might make for a spectacular sight. Discover the dynamic dance of celestial bodies and the vital role of asteroid detection!

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ANECDOTE

Close Call Asteroid Discovery

Carson Fuls discovered 2017 AG-13 using a new 100-megapixel camera on the Mt. Bigelow Schmidt telescope.
The rock passed within twice the Moon's distance and can have orbits bringing it as close as ~2,000 miles from Earth.

INSIGHT

Early Detection Enables Action

Early detection of small near-Earth objects enables practical warnings and impact predictions.
Carson's discovery showed we could calculate impact sites and warn people if a trajectory threatened populated areas.

ANECDOTE

Repeat Discoveries With New Camera

Less than three weeks after 2017 AG-13, Carson discovered another small rock, 2017 BH-30, using the same equipment.
That object passed a little more than one Earth's circumference from our planet.

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Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org

From November 2024.

Today's 2 topics:

- My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Carson Fuls was using the new hundred million pixel camera on our team's Schmidt telescope located on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona, when he discovered 2017 AG13. It passes near the Earth's orbit twice a year on its own 345 day path around the Sun. When Carson spotted it, 9 lunar distances from him it was heading in our direction at about nine and a half miles per second. Three days later it came to less than two times the distance the Moon's distance from us. Carson's new space rock, 2017 AG13's orbit, can bring it to less than 2,000 miles from the surface of our planet. It will not come near the Earth again until 2091 and will not strike the Earth in the foreseeable future.

- Comet C2/2015 V2 Johnson was discovered by my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Jess Johnson on November 3, 2015. It travels on a hyperbolic path around the Sun which is highly inclined to the plane where the planets and most of the asteroids travel. Jess's comet's path takes it from deep space into the inner solar system slightly further from the Sun than the planet Mars. Although it will not get closer to the Earth than about 75 million miles it may out gas enough material to make it visible to the naked eye.

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