Start of the 37th America's Cup

Although it may seem from most of my posts that this blog is all about astronomy, sailing is also one of my passions so it's time to talk about that for a change. 

Saturday was the start of the latest round of the America's Cup, the longest running sporting event in the world. It's always been a rich man's sport, seeing who can build the biggest, fastest boat. The defender this time is Emirates Team New Zealand and they are battling the challenger, Ineos Britannia who beat out 4 other teams (including American Magic) for the privilege. Although the regatta is usually sailed on home waters of the defender, for 2024 New Zealand opted to have the racing held in Barcelona, Spain. 

This time, the "biggest, fastest boats" are the AC75, a 75 foot long foiling sailboat built to sail up to 50 knots (58mph). Actual speeds have been clocked at 55.5 knots (63.9mph)! They have crews of 8 and that includes 4 "cyclors", guys pedaling on equipment like a stationary bike to provide all the power required to operate the boat. 

Starting in the 2013 edition (raced on San Francisco Bay with AC72s, wind-sailed foiling catamarans), the America's Cup introduced cutting-edge technology originally developed for football broadcasts. Using special cameras with precision positioning, they can now digitally draw the race course on screen. Remember the first time you watched a football game and noticed the down line seemingly painted on the field, yet players could walk in front of it? Since 2013, this same tech has been applied to the America's Cup, growing more sophisticated with each edition. 

Watch this 1 minute clip from the Louis Vuitton challenger series, featuring Great Britain racing against Italy whom they later defeated for the right to face New Zealand. It showcases what makes the America's Cup so captivating: the speed and size of the boats, the mind-boggling sight of sailboats flying across water at near-freeway speeds, the intense competition and tactics, and even the digital augmentation. The latter is used to illustrate how the wind coming off the sails of the lead boat creates "disturbed air," which the tailing boat tacks (turns) to avoid. 

While this is worlds apart from the typical sailing we do on Dallas lakes, the America's Cup has long held a fascination for me!

First Glimpse of Comet C/2023 A3

Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, having swung around the sun and headed to the outer reaches of the solar system, is now climbing higher in our evening sky each night. Today marks its closest approach to Earth, so I went out to capture it.

I took this shot from the east shore of White Rock Lake, with the old Pump Station and its distinctive smokestack in view. Despite A3's brightness, it's a challenge to spot in urban areas without optical aids. Even with my Nikon D750, while the coma is easily visible, the tail remains quite faint.

Over the next week, the comet will rise higher above the horizon's haze, improving visibility. However, it's a double-edged sword - as it climbs, it will also retreat from Earth, gradually dimming until it's only visible through a telescope.

I'm planning another attempt in a few days, hoping to capture a better shot of that elusive tail. If you're interested in catching a glimpse of this cosmic visitor, find a spot with a clear western horizon in the hour after sunset between now and the end of the month. It's worth the effort!

Click on the image to view full-size.

Contest to Name a Quasi-Moon

Want a Zoozve Poster?
Click on the image to buy one from Alex

What's a Quasi-moon

Right? What the heck are they? A quasi-moon of a planet is an asteroid that remains in the general vicinity of its planet. Unlike a moon, a quasi-moon doesn't orbit the planet itself but orbits the Sun, just with a path similar to that of the planet. If you want to learn more about quasi-moons, check out the Wikipedia quasi-satellite article.

BTW, if you have seen the latest news reports about Earth having a mini-moon for two months as asteroid 2024 PT₅ is captured by Earth's gravity, you might wonder about the difference between a mini-moon and a quasi-moon. See the Wikipedia quasi-satellite and temporary satellite articles for the details but basically quasi-moons have a (mostly) stable orbit and mini-moons don't. 

The Zoozve Story

I first learned about quasi-moons listening to a viral podcast episode about something called Zoozve. You should check out the Zoozve episode yourself, both for the full story and more details on this unique object, but the gist of it is that the co-host of Radiolab, Latif Nasser, was looking over a solar system poster bought for his son and noticed the name Zoozve, shown as a moon of Venus. Having never heard that Venus has a moon, he did his thing as an investigative reporter and learned that it was a quasi-moon. He also discovered that Alex Foster, the graphic artist who created the poster, had mistakenly shown the object's provisional designation, 2002VE (technically, 2002 VE₆₈) on the poster as ZOOZVE. Latif eventually pitched the idea of submitting the name Zoozve as the official name of 2002 VE₆₈ to Brian Skiff, the scientist who had discovered it. Brian submitted the name to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the scientific body responsible for governing the names of astronomical objects,  and it was eventually approved. 

The Naming Contest

Orbital path for 2004 GU_{9
Click to enlarge}

Inspired by the naming of Zoozve, Radiolab and the IAU kicked off a contest this past May to name one of Earth's quasi-moons, the asteroid 164207 (2004 GU₉), as a way for the public to learn more about quasi-moons and the ways in which the naming process connects culture and science. You can read more about the contest here. There aren't many quasi-moons and only a few have official names, the rest just have a provisional designation, so it is pretty cool for the public to have an opportunity to suggest the name for one. 

The deadline for submissions is today so if you weren't already aware of the contest, there are only hours left if you want to make a submission. However, you can still participate as Radiolab and IAU will pick 10 finalists in October and then during November and December the public will be able to vote on which of these they think will be the best name for 2004 GU₉. The winning name will be announced in January, 2025. 

Getting Involved

As an amateur astronomer and STEAM advocate, the opportunity to be involved in naming an astronomical object really intrigued me. I've spent time off and on over the past few months working on this. First I had to come up with a name. It had to be from a mythological source (excluding types of names used for things like planets) and it couldn't have already been used as the name of another celestial object. The name I selected is Zephyrus. 

After coming up with the name, I had to draft a citation, the official description that will be recorded with the name, and a justification, my case for why they should choose my submission. Drafting those involved numerous rewrites. In the course of this I did leverage some online resources, even using AI for idea generation and suggestions on improving the writing, but ultimately the end result is my own work.  See below for what I submitted.

Name:	Zephyrus
Source:	Greek Mythology
Citation:	Zephyrus is the Greek god of the west wind, one of the four Anemoi, the wind gods. He symbolizes renewal, life, and the gentle forces of nature. This name was selected through a contest organized by the IAU and Radiolab to name a quasi-moon of Earth.
Rationale:	Zephyrus, one of the four Anemoi of Greek mythology, was the god of the West wind. Although generally associated with gentle breezes, Zephyrus also had a wilder side, sometimes referred to as stormy or ill-tempered. This dual nature, a balance between gentle influence and untamed power, is also reflected in the unique orbital properties of quasi-moon 2004 GU9. Its orbital path has a subtle grace and beauty yet represents possible danger, reflected in its classification as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid. 2004 GU9 is held in its orbit by the Sun, echoing Zephyrus' struggle with Apollo, the Sun god. Both the wind god and the asteroid have been subject to the pull of a more powerful force. Just as Apollo won the affections of Spartan prince Hyacinthus over Zephyrus, the Sun dominates the movements of 2004 GU9. These parallels illustrate a delicate balance between autonomy and influence, where smaller entities make their way under the sway of greater powers. Both cases reflect struggle and equilibrium. Choosing the name Zephyrus for quasi-moon 2004 GU9 would pay tribute to the complexity and balance of Earth’s winds and of the movements of cosmic bodies. It would also honor the imaginative spirit of this naming contest. Just as the naming of quasi-moon Zoozve was the result of a creative spark flowing from discovery, Zephyrus is often associated with spring and growth, with the creation of the new.

If you're interested in learning more about Zephyrus, you can check out the Olympioi or Wikipedia articles on him for additional information.

Hopefully, my submission is selected as one of the finalists. If it does, I'll do a follow-up post with information on how to vote. I hope you'll consider voting for Zephyrus!

Whether or not Zephyrus ends up being chosen, it's exciting to be part of this naming process. 

I'd love to hear if you have an idea for a name for 2004 GU9, have feedback on Zephyrus as a name for it, if you have questions or comments on quasi-moons or if you have questions about how and why astronomical objects are named. Drop a note in the comments - let's chat!