 |
|
| 2063 Bacchus |
|
Introduction
The Apollo, Venus- and Mars-crosser asteroid 2063 Bacchus was
discovered on April 24, 1977 by Charles T. Kowal at the Palomar
Observatory. In March 1996 radar imaging of the asteroid was
conducted at the Goldstone Observatory under the direction of JPL
scientists Steven Ostro and Lance Benner. Optical observations were
conducted by Petr Pravec, Marek Wolf, and Lenka Sarounová during
March and April 1996.
The asteroid is thought to be about 1.1 x 1.1 x 2.6 km in size.
It is classified as a Q-type asteroid.
Its name derives from the Roman god Bacchus.
Q-type asteroids
Q-type asteroids are relatively uncommon inner-belt asteroids
with a strong, broad 1-micrometre olivine and pyroxene feature, and
a spectral slope that indiciates the presence of metal. There are
absorption features shortward and longward of 0.7 µm, and the
spectrum is generally intermediate between the V and S-type.
Q-type asteroids are spectrally more similar to ordinary
chondrite meteorites (types H, L, LL) than to any other asteroid
type. This has led scientists to speculate that they are abundant,
but only a few of this type has been characterized.
The Message
A few months ago, scientists at the Arecibo Observatory received a short
message that eminates from 2063 Bacchus. It consists of two
separate radio frequencies, one at the Hydrogen line at 1420.40575
MHz and the other at twice that frequency. There is a brief pause
between each tone burst.
This message is unquestionably a sign of extra-terrestrial life.
A mission to 2063 Bacchus is planned for next month.
The message is short and has been repeating since it was first
detected. It has not yet been decoded.
||||O|| O|||||O
OOOO|OO |OOOOO|
OO|OOOO OOOO|OO
OOOOOO| O|OOOOO
OOO|||O |O|OOOO
O|OOOOO OOO|OOO
|OOOOOO OOOOO||
The Cache
The cache is about 0.2 miles from one of the many snowmobile
trails around Tower Hill Pond, but don't despair. I found a deer
trail and followed that to within about 200 feet or so of the cache
and the bushwhacking is easy after that. Add 0.089N and subtract
0.184W to the cache location to find the trailhead. (And don't even
try to guess as to which side of the pond it is on, there are a
lot of snowmobile trails there!)
The cache is a 5-cup Lock and Lock. The cammo is crumbly so if
it crumbles too much you'll find a large supply of the same stuff
nearby for repair.
FTFP prize is a BackBrakeBilly puzzle geocoin
much like this one. You don't get that one, that's already been
claimed. But I forgot to write down the code before placing it in
the cache so just pretend the icon is there. It is unactivated so
it is yours to keep.