Author Archives: josedavid130gw

UA and ICCUB Contribute to the First Scientific Article on the Discovery of the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

Posted on by

The object 3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar visitor detected in our Solar System, after 1I/ʻOumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019). It was discovered in 2024 by the ATLAS telescope (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) in Hawaii, which gave the object its name.

It is classified as an interstellar comet, an icy body that comes from beyond our Solar System and, when approaching the Sun, develops a characteristic coma and tail. Studying it is key to comparing the composition and evolution of comets formed around other stars with those that originated in our own Oort Cloud.

The University of Alicante (UA) and the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) have contributed to the first international scientific article dedicated to 3I/ATLAS, providing observations and analyses that help uncover the nature of this interstellar visitor.

This discovery highlights the importance of international collaboration in modern astronomy and opens a new window into the study of planetary formation processes in other stellar systems.

Asteroid Day 2025: Are We Ready for the Next Impact?

Posted on by

Join us in Alicante on Friday, June 27, to celebrate Asteroid Day 2025, a global initiative to raise awareness about asteroids and planetary defense. This special event brings together scientists, civil protection experts, and the public to discuss the risks and opportunities associated with near-Earth objects. Through engaging talks and open debate, we will explore how science and society can work together to better understand and prepare for potential asteroid impacts.

📍 Venue: University Venue in Alicante, Sala Miguel Hernández
📺 Live stream: https://si.ua.es/es/videostreaming/mhernandez.html

Interview of Antena 3 News about asteroid 2024 YR4

Posted on by

Asteroid 2024 YR4 has drawn significant attention following its recent detection and preliminary estimates of a potential impact with Earth. While its trajectory is still being studied, experts are closely monitoring its movement to assess any possible risks.

Our colleagues Adriano Campo Bagatin, Paula Benavidez, and Toni Santana–Ros have given an interview to Antena 3 Noticias, where they share more details about this asteroid and its potential impact.

Read the full news article here: Countries where asteroid 2024 YR4 could collide

The Planetary Sciences team from the University of Alicante travels to Florida to participate in the launch of the Hera space mission.

Posted on by

The Planetary Sciences team from the University of Alicante (UA) took part in the launch of the Hera mission by the European Space Agency (ESA), scheduled for October 7, 2024, from Cape Canaveral. UA researchers Adriano Campo Bagatin, Paula Benavidez, Laura M. Parro, and Po-Yen Liu attended the launch of the first probe to explore the binary asteroid system Didymos.

Hera is part of the planetary defense strategy and follows NASA’s DART mission, which impacted the asteroid Dimorphos to alter its orbit. The UA team studies the internal structure of asteroids and the evolution of the material ejected by the DART collision. They expect to receive the first images of the asteroid in 2026, which will help improve preparedness to deflect asteroids that could threaten Earth, such as Apophis in 2029.

Read more at: https://www.informacion.es/alicante/2024/10/03/universidad-alicante-mision-espacial-participa-florida-ciencias-planetarias-108867591.html

How NASA managed to divert the trajectory of an asteroid: experts analyze the first planetary defense mission

Posted on by

On the Spanish television channel Cuatro, on the news program Código 10 at 11:00 p.m. this Tuesday, April 3, 2024, Adriano Campo Bagatín was interviewed to talk about the DART mission, the milestone in planetary defense carried out two years ago.

The controversy surrounding the Diablo Comet reopens the debate on whether or not we are prepared to defend ourselves against objects on a trajectory towards Earth.

The full interview is available at the following link:

https://www.cuatro.com/codigo-10/20240402/nasa-trayectoria-asteroide-expertos-planetaria_18_012119776.html

One year after the NASA/DART impact What do we know so far and what remains to be known?

Posted on by

Gonzalo Tancredi, professor at the University of the Republic (Montevideo, Uruguay), and is going to give a talk/seminar this Friday, January 26, 2024 about the scientific project carried out a year ago with the NASA/DART mission.

On September 26, 2022, NASA’s DART space probe impacted the Dimorphos satellite of the asteroid (65803) Didymos. The objective was to test the technique for deflecting asteroids on a collision course with Earth called the kinetic impactor. Minutes later the LICIACube probe of the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana took spectacular images of the event.

The Copernican revolution: 480 years of history, science and society

Posted on by

Coinciding with the 480th anniversary of the publication of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the revolutions of the celestial orbs) by Nicolás Copernicus, the University of Alicante (UA) presents the lecture series The Copernican revolution: 480 years of history, science and society . With this work, the polish astronomer began a time of questioning medieval thought installed in European culture with his heliocentric theory, where the revolves in orbit around the Sun.

The first part of the cycle organized by the UA will focus on the history and science around the Copernican revolution, from the pre-Copernicans to Galileo Galilei, by David Barrado this Friday, November 10, 2023. For its part, on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, the session will feature the newly appointed director of the Office of Space and Society of the Spanish Space Agency, Eva Villaver, who will delve into the recent revolution of the discovery of extrasolar planets, imagined five centuries earlier by Giordano Bruno. The Alicante writer Miguel Ángel Pérez Oca will introduce the figure of this Neapolitan thinker who was a victim of the denial of free thought marked by the Inquisition.

In the second part of the cycle, the relationship between credulity and science, fake news and the scientific method will be analyzed. Thus, on Thursday, January 25, 2024, Xavier Luri, from the University of Barcelona, will talk about the scientific method in everyday life. Finally, on Friday, February 2, Fernando Cuartero, from the University of Castilla-La Mancha, will analyze the relationship between the need for an objective vision of natural and social reality, secularism in terms of institutional neutrality with respect to individual free beliefs and the embodiment of those principles in a fully realized democracy