Near Earth Object Research using the Magdalena Ridge Observatory 2.4-meter Telescope
by
Eileen V. Ryan, New Mexico Tech
Thursday, November 17, 2016 5:30 PM
Meet and Greet at 5
The University of New Mexico Conference Center, Auditorium
1634 University Blvd. NE
Pizza with the speaker will follow the lecture
Eileen V. Ryan is a Research Scientist and Adjunct Faculty at New Mexico Tech for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory, serving as the Director of the 2.4-meter Telescope. She is the Principal Investigator of a NASA grant to observe and study asteroids and comets that are in the near-Earth zone. Previously, she was a tenured member of the Physics faculty at New Mexico Highlands University, and a Research Scientist affiliated with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona. Her research includes theoretical and experimental studies of small body collisions in the solar system, microbe survivability during collisional events, and telescopic observations of asteroids and comets. Asteroid (9542) ERYAN = 1983 TU1 has been named in her honor, and she has made several television appearances discussing her research, including appearing on the Discovery channel program “Bad Universe” and the History Channel program “the Universe”.
Abstract: Researchers at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory's 2.4-meter Telescope facility have obtained tracking and characterization data on thousands of potentially hazardous Near-Earth asteroids and comets, including several objects that came closer to the Earth than the moon. Critical to developing mitigation strategies to deal with this threat is to acquire and understand the physical properties of these bodies. Work to date will be discussed in context with NASA's plans for spacecraft missions that seek to enhance our understanding of how small bodies in our Solar System have shaped our past, present, and how they will impact our future.