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ASTEROID FLYBY TO HELP NASA OBSERVATION MONSOON STORMS
or the first time, NASA will use an actual space rock for an FEWER BUT MORE
Fobservational campaign to test the agency’s network of observatories EXTREME
and scientists who work with planetary defense. The asteroid, named Chris Richards photo
2012 TC4, does not pose a threat to the Earth, but NASA is using it as a test
object for the campaign because it will pass near the Earth on Oct. 12, 2017. he monsoon now brings
The goal of the exercise is to recover, track and characterize 2012 Tmore extreme wind and
TC4 as a potential impactor in order to test the NASA system, including rain to central and southwestern Arizona than in the
observations, modeling, prediction and communication. past, according to research led by the University of
Arizona.
Although there are now fewer storms, the largest
monsoon thunderstorms bring heavier rain and
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES NEED HELP stronger winds than did the monsoon storms of 60
FROM PLANT POPULATION years ago, the scientists report.
by Liza Pluto Chris Richards photo The researchers compared precipitation records
from 1950-1970 to those from 1991-2010.
new study co-authored by Laura López-Hoffman in the University of
A Arizona’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences highlights options
to restore the iconic monarch butterfly, whose numbers have plummeted UA SCIENTISTS AND THE CURIOUS CASE
in part from herbicide use, loss of habitat and intensive agriculture.
Milkweed is the only plant that provides breeding habitat and food OF THE WARPED KUIPER BELT
for monarch young, but because adult monarchs feed on the nectar n unknown, unseen “planetary mass object”
from a range of flowering plants, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Amay lurk in the outer reaches of our solar system.
recommends planting both milkweed and nectar plants that are native This object would be different from — and much
to specific areas. In addition to breeding habitat loss, factors contributing closer than — the so-called Planet Nine, a planet
to monarch declines include adverse weather conditions in recent years, whose existence awaits confirmation.
loss of overwintering habitat, disease and exposure to contaminants. Kat Volk and Renu Malhotra of the University of
Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory present
compelling evidence of a yet-to-be-discovered
planetary body with a mass somewhere between that
of Mars and Earth. The mysterious mass, the
researchers show, has given away its presence — for
now — only by controlling the orbital planes of a
population of space rocks known as Kuiper Belt
objects in the icy outskirts of the solar system.

UA ENGINEERS TACKLE
HYPERSONIC FLIGHT
ngineers are installing three 20-foot-long
Etubes for a new high-speed wind tunnel in the
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Building,
ushering in an era of hypersonic discovery at the
University of Arizona.
The UA engineers’ investigations could help
overcome some of the challenges of high-speed
flight and help manufacturers design more efficient
vehicles with greater controllability and larger
payloads.

University Communications News
Read online: uanews.arizona.edu

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