[meteorite-list] NEO detectability

[Rob Matson]

Hi Ed,

> I hadn't thought of that [joining MPML], but then I don't think
> of many things now days.  I assumed that list concerned simply
> observational data, and was quite expensive to join.

Richard is the administrator for the Minor Planet Mailing List, and
(just like the Meteorite List) it is completely free to join. Anything
asteroid- (or comet-) related is completely acceptable on MPML, and
you would certainly find multiple people who could address your
questions related to warning time for low-albedo NEOs in various
orbits.

The hardest detection problem is a post-perihelion Apollo due to
the poor phase angle and low solar elongation. There is an unavoidable
"detection hole" in this direction which prevents earth-bound
telescopes from seeing small objects until they are hours from
impact. (It is even possible to design pathological cases where you
will never detect the object -- you'll just get blindsided. Fortunately
these cases represent a very tiny percentage of all possible impact
scenarios.)

--Rob