Homepage

Back

Summer 2003

Archives

A moment in astronomical history passed by on Nov. 4. On this day, the asteroid known as Hermes passed through the Earth’s orbit, coming as close as 18 times the distance from the moon to the earth. Not having been seen in the last 66 years, Hermes was rediscovered on Oct. 15. Moving at approximately 70,000 mph, Hermes is not expected to hit the earth for at least the next 10,000 years.

According to Dr. Ed Guinan of the astronomy department, even if the asteroid were headed in the direction of the Earth, if found early enough, there would still be an opportunity to avoid mass destruction by altering its path. “A little change in the orbit can cause it to miss earth,” noted Guinan.

Originally discovered in 1937 by German astronomer, Karl Reinmuth of Heidelburg, Hermes was found, observed, but then vanished as its rapid speed prevented scientists from continually following it. It’s position was recovered in the late 1990s.

The asteroid has the unique characteristic of being binary. Instead of being just one mass, Hermes is two rocks, approximately 300 meters in diameter, circling each other.

Under Guinan’s guidance was junior astronomy major, Ryan Hamilton. Hailing from Bethel, Pa., Hamilton spent many hours observing and taking pictures of Hermes as it past through the Earth’s orbit. Hamilton sees this as a beginning to a promising career. “This lets me see what’s out there,” noted Hamilton. “I liked [astronomy] when I was a kid and I never grew out of it.” Studying at Villanova seemed the perfect choice for Hamilton. As an involved member of the astronomy program, Hamilton attests to the strength of the university’s program. “The research and experience [I am exposed to] are parallel to projects in other graduate programs.”
Guinan agreed. “Ryan is exposed to research here at Villanova that he just would not have the opportunity for at other universities."

Starting last summer, Hamilton received a grant from the Delaware Space Grant Consortium, a program designed to give undergraduates research experience. Working with both Guinan and Professor Laurence DeWarf, Hamilton is working on a project called the Sun in Time project. Hamilton’s work includes “working on a rotation-age-activity relationship for solar-like stars, and looking for the twin to our sun.” These two ideas are being combined and will be presented at the next meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Combined, the project will be titled "Rotation-Activity-Age Relations of Sun-like Stars: In Search of the Much Coveted Solar Twin.”

“This sort of work is becoming more and more important with the discovery of extrasolar planets, in determining if stars with planets are any different than stars without. We also need to determine whether the sun is normal and well behaved or not, as the sun's activity has noticeable effects on the earth's climate,” said Hamilton.