Travelers in the Night Eps. 869 & 870: Taurid Resonant Swarm & Satellite Ashes

It's the 365 days of Astronomy hot gas coming in 3, 2, 1.

The planets, millions of asteroids, tens of thousands of comets, distant icy worlds, and countless

other bits and pieces of material orbit the Sun.

A group of such co-orbiting objects is called the Torrid Complex or Swarm.

It consists of comet 2P Anki, a number of near-Earth asteroids, and the meteor swarm which

produces the Torrid meteor shower every October and November.

All of these objects have similar orbits about the Sun, and appear likely to have been

produced by the breakup of a six-mile diameter comet as it rounded the Sun in about 3,200

BCE.

Scientists speculate that a small fragment of this parent comet could have produced a

Tunguska effect which knocked down trees over an 800 square mile area in Siberia in 1908.

In a recent paper in the Planetary Science Journal, astronomers report on a search for potentially

hazardous asteroids hiding in the Torrid Resonant Stream using this wiki transit facility

camera with the Oshin 48-inch telescope on Mount Palomar, California.

The research group of 11 individuals from the University of Maryland, University of Western

Ontario, and the University of Washington, Seattle was led by Poolsville, Maryland, High

School student, Jasmine Lai, and supervised by Dr. Kwan Chi Ye.

These researchers observed a portion of the sky where the gravity of the giant planet

Jupiter has concentrated Torrid objects.

They found no new dangerous objects, but obtained data which statistically suggests there may

be 9-14 undiscovered asteroids in the Torrid Stream larger than a football field in size.

White hunters will continue to be vigilant to make sure none of them are heading our

way.

For travelers in the night, this is Dr. Al Grower, stay tuned.

Fifty years ago, scientists found that chloro, fluorocarbons, or CFC chemicals in widespread

use and refrigeration air conditioning and hairspray were beginning to damage the ozone

layer in the Earth's stratosphere, which blocks harmful solar UVB radiation from reaching

the surface.

The worldwide response was the Montreal Protocol, banning these chemicals from being released

into the atmosphere.

This action saved approximately 2.3 million people from death by skin cancer in the USA alone.

In an article published in geophysical research letters, Dr. Jose Ferreira from the University

of Southern California and his three co-authors describe a new man-made threat to our home planet's

stratospheric ozone layer.

SpaceX, Amazon, and other companies are launching, what are projected to become mega-constellations

consisting of tens of thousands of low-Earth orbiting satellites.

As these satellites are replaced every five years or so by newer models, the old ones

are programmed to de-orbit and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, leaving behind aluminum

oxide nanoparticles.

These authors report that when these mega-constellations are fully developed, 360 metric tons of ozone

damaging aluminum oxides per year will be released in the atmosphere, representing an increase

of 646% over the natural levels.

Other recent scientific studies provide similar warnings.

The reduction in the release of CFC chemicals put the Antarctic hole in the ozone layer on

track to full recovery in 50 years.

The introduction of satellite ashes into the stratosphere could pause or perhaps even

reverse this process.

Unless something is done differently, humanity will likely have more skin cancer, cataracts,

and increasing climate problems.

For travelers in the night, this is Dr. Al Grower.

Stay tuned.

The 365 days of astronomy podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute.

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As we wrap up today's episode, we're looking forward to unraveling more stories from the

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With every new discovery from ground-based and space-based observatories and each milestone

and space exploration, we come closer to understanding the cosmos and our place within

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Until next time, let the stars guide your curiosity.