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'''James Vernon Scotti''' (1960 |
'''James Vernon Scotti''' (b. 1960) is an [[United States|American]] [[astronomer]]. He was born in [[Bandon, Oregon]] and graduated from [[Woodway Senior High]] in [[Edmonds, Washington]] in [[1978]]. He received his [[B.Sc.]] in [[Astronomy]] from the [[University of Arizona]] in [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]] in [[1983]]. Ever since that time, he has worked on the [[Spacewatch]] project, which is one of a number of projects that look for [[near-Earth asteroid]]s (NEAs). He wrote the first automatic [[asteroid]] detection software for the project in [[1984]]. |
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==Discoveries== |
==Discoveries== |
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Revision as of 11:30, 30 November 2010
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James Vernon Scotti (b. 1960) is an American astronomer. He was born in Bandon, Oregon and graduated from Woodway Senior High in Edmonds, Washington in 1978. He received his B.Sc. in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1983. Ever since that time, he has worked on the Spacewatch project, which is one of a number of projects that look for near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). He wrote the first automatic asteroid detection software for the project in 1984.
Discoveries
He has discovered numerous asteroids, particularly near-Earth asteroids, including (35396) 1997 XF11, which briefly created a stir in the news media when a preliminary orbit calculation indicated the possibility of Earth impact in 2028; further observations led to a more accurate orbit, which disproved the impact.
He has also recovered more than 60 comets starting in 1985 (since comets are subject to non-gravitational forces due to outgassing and solar wind, it is often a challenge to predict their exact position and rediscover them each time they make a new perihelion approach). He confirmed the discovery of the well known Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which impacted Jupiter in July 1994. He also discovered the periodic comets 202P/Scotti, P/2000 Y3 (Scotti), P/2003 L1 (Scotti) and P/2010 C1 (Scotti), the later three are not yet numbered as they have only been seen at one perihelion passage.
1991 VG
On November 6, 1991, Scotti discovered an object now known as 1991 VG.[1] The object's orbit was found to be very similar to Earth's orbit[2] and it was found that it would make a close approach to Earth just a month after discovery. Given such an Earth-like orbit, the dynamical lifetime of such an object is relatively short with the object quickly either impacting Earth or being perturbed by Earth onto a different orbit. The similarity of its orbit with Earth is also very difficult to explain from natural sources, with ejecta from a recent Lunar impact or non-gravitational perturbations such as the Yarkovsky effect having been suggested. The uncertainty of the object's origin, combined with rapid variation in the object's brightness in images obtained during its close passage with Earth in early December 1991, led some to speculate that 1991 VG might be artificial in origin,[3] having possibly been launched during the space age from Earth, though no definitive identification could be made. It might also be an artifact of extraterrestrial origin.[citation needed] At present, the question of its origin remains unknown, though the artificial origin seems to not be well supported.[citation needed] 1991 VG has absolute magnitude H=28.5 which would correspond to an asteroid between about 6 and 12 meters diameter and it is therefore far too faint for further study, apart from during close approaches to Earth.
Scotti's research interests include the origin of comets, the dynamical evolution of comets and asteroids, the Near-Earth Asteroids, and the outer solar system.
Scotti is also an avid space enthusiast and is interested in the history of space exploration and particularly of the Apollo Program. He has contributed to the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, which details the Apollo lunar explorations. He is also a space artist and photographer.
The asteroid 3594 Scotti is named for him.
See also
References
- ^ satobs.org: James Scotti, Re: What is 1991 VG?
- ^ jpl.nasa.gov, 1991 VG Earth Impact Risk Summary
- ^ Steel, D. (1995). "SETA and 1991 VG". The Observatory. 115: 78–83. Bibcode:1995Obs...115...78S.