Astroblog: NEO 2012 QG42 07-09-12

Saturday, September 08, 2012

NEO 2012 QG42 07-09-12

2012 QG42 image using the iTelescope T5 instrument on 7 September 2012. This is a stack of 10 x 120 second images. The images were stretched in FITSliberator, then stacked in ImageJ and a Max intensity Z project made, then despeckeled. The Images seem to have variations in brightness which may indicate it is rotating. I'll have to take another set and do proper photometry on them. Click to embiggen.

Near Earth Object 2012 QG42 is a recently discovered relatively bright NEO. It is a 375 metre diameter rock that will be 7.4 Earth-Moon distances from us at closest approach on September 14 at 05:08 UT.

Here's my video made from my image sequence.

And here's Peter Lake's video sequence from the same night.

Labels: asteroids, iTelescope, NEO