Travelers in the Night Eps. 875 & 876: Newly Discovered Crater & Neighborhood Traffic

Travelers in the Night Eps. 875 & 876: Newly Discovered Crater & Neighborhood Traffic

From The 365 Days of Astronomy by 365DaysOfAstronomy.org

April 26, 2026 · 6 min

About this episode

Dr. Al Grauer discusses newly discovered crater evidence and recent asteroid tracking efforts.

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 2025. Today's 2 topics: - Dr. Uisdean Nicholson from Heriot-Watt University and his team of 9 co-authors analyze 3D seismic imaging and drill cuttings from a 1980s oil well to make a convincing case that the Silverpit crater was produced by a the impact of a 1.5 football field diameter asteroid approximately 45 million years ago. - In a recent 60 day period asteroid hunters tracked 24 space rocks which came closer than our Moon. My team the University of Arizona's Catalina Sky Survey operates 5 telescopes in the mountains around Tucson, Arizona. Our goal is to find objects like 2025 RM1 which are on an impact trajectory with our home planet in advance so that people in the effected area can be warned to stay away from doors and windows. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Al Grauer

Guest: Dr. Uisdean Nicholson

Topics covered

  • asteroid impact
  • crater analysis
  • seismic imaging
  • asteroid tracking
  • space rocks
  • public safety

Keywords

  • Silverpit crater
  • asteroid hunting
  • 3D seismic imaging
  • impact trajectory
  • space rocks
  • donation
  • astronomy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Heriot-Watt University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arizona, Catalina Sky Survey

Places: Tucson, Arizona

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