Astroblog

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2021 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific). 

This year we get a good Total Lunar eclipse during a perigee "super" Full Moon and a partial lunar eclipse under very poor conditions. There is a good opposition of Jupiter and Saturn. Mars skims past the Pleiades and Beehive cluster. Venus too skims past the Beehive. There is also a good opposition of Vesta.

While we don't have a spectacular conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn this year, we have some fantastic parings and lineups and good meteor showers.

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 

Special events are bolded.

Date	Event
January
2 January 2021	Earth at Perihelion
12 January 2021	Crescent Moon and Venus close low in the morning twilight
14 January 2021	Crescent Moon, Mercury and Jupiter close low in the evening twilight
21 January 2021	Mars and waxing Moon close
21 January 2021	Uranus between Mars and the waxing Moon
February
6-7 February 2021	Venus close to Saturn low in the twilight
11 February 2021	Venus close to Jupiter and the crescent moon low in the twilight
19 February 2021	Mars near first Quarter Moon
20-28 February 2021	Mercury between Jupiter and Saturn in the twilight
28 February 2021	Mars within binocular distance of the Pleiades cluster
March
1-9 March 2021	Mars within binocular distance of the Pleiades cluster, closest on the 2nd
4 March 2021	Asteroid Vesta at opposition, just visible to the unaided eye, best in binoculars
5 March 2021	Mercury very close to Jupiter below Saturn in the morning
10 March 2021	Saturn close to the crescent Moon in the morning
11 March 2021	Mercury close to Jupiter and the crescent Moon in the morning
19 March 2021	Mars near waxing Moon
20 March 2021	Earth at Equinox
April
7 April 2021	Saturn near to the waning Moon in the morning sky
8 April 2021	Jupiter near to the crescent Moon in the morning sky
11 April 2021	Mercury close to the crescent Moon in the morning twilight
17 April 2021	Mars close to the crescent Moon
27 April 2021	Mars on outskirts of open cluster M35 (binoculars best)
28 April 2021	Perigee Full Moon ("super" Moon), 1:00 am
May
4  May 2021	Saturn close to waning Moon in the morning sky
5 May 2021	Jupiter near to the waning Moon in the morning sky
6-7 May 2021	Eta Aquariid meteor shower
14 May 2021	Thin crescent Moon above Mercury in morning sky
26 May 2021	Total eclipse Perigee Full Moon ("super" Moon), 12:00 pm (eclipse from 8 pm)
29 May 2021	Mercury and Venus close low in the twilight (binoculars best)
June
1 June 2021	waning Moon near Jupiter
12 June 2021	Venus near thin crescent Moon low in the evening sky
14 June 2021	Waxing crescent Moon and Mars near in evening sky
21 June 2021	Earth at solstice
23-24 June 2021	Mars crosses beehive cluster (binoculars best)
27 June 2021	Waning Moon close to Saturn
28 June 2021	waning Moon near Jupiter
July
3 July 2021	Venus at the edge of the beehive cluster, best in binoculars
6 July 2021	Earth at aphelion
8 July 2021	Mercury close to the thin crescent Moon in the morning
12 July 2021	Crescent Moon, Venus and Mars close in the evening
13 July 2021	Venus and Mars very close in the evening sky
22 July 2021	Venus very close to bright star Regulus
24 July 2021	Saturn near Moon
26 July 2021	Jupiter near Moon
29-30 July 2021	Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower
30 July 2021	Mars very close to Regulus
August
2 August 2021	Saturn at opposition
10 August 2021	Mars near thin crescent Moon
11 August 2021	Venus close to crescent Moon
18 August 2021	Variable star Mira predicted to peak in brightness
19 August 2021	Jupiter at opposition
17-21 August 2021	Mercury close to Mars, closest on the 19th
20 August 20	Saturn near Moon
22 August 2021	Jupiter near Moon
September
6 September 2021	Venus close to bright star Spica
9 September 2021	Mercury and crescent Moon close in the evening sky
10 September 2021	Crescent Moon and Venus nearby forming triangle with Spica
17 September 2021	Waxing Moon near Saturn
18 September 2021	Waxing Moon near Jupiter
23 September 2021	Earth at Equinox
21 September 2021	Mercury close to bright star Spica
24 September 2021	Venus close to moderately bright star alpha2 Librae, below Scorpius and above the pair of Mercury and Spica
October
1 October 2021	Mercury and bright star Spica still close
10 October 2021	Venus, the crescent Moon and the bright star Antares form a triangle
14 October 2021	Saturn and the waxing Moon close
15 October 2021	Jupiter and the waxing Moon close
17 October 2021	Venus and the bright star Antares at their closest
21-22 October 2021	Orionid meteor shower
23-24 October 2021	Venus close to globular cluster M19 (binocular or telescope)
November
4 November 2021	Thin crescent Moon close to Mercury low in the twilight
8 November 2021	Venus close to thin crescent Moon below the teapot of Sagittarius
8-24 November 2021	Venus crosses the teapot of Sagittarius
10-11 November 2021	Waxing Moon near Saturn
11-12 November 2021	Waxing Moon near Saturn
18 November 2021	Leonid Meteor Shower
19 November 2021	Partial Lunar eclipse, difficult with mid eclipse in the twilight
December
3 December 2021	Mars and thin crescent Moon close low in the morning twilight
7-10 December 2021	Three bright planets form a line in the evening with the thin crescent. moon joining them, Venus and Moon close on the 7th
8 December 2021	Saturn and crescent Moon close
10 December 2021	Jupiter and crescent Moon close
14 December 2021	Geminid Meteor shower in the morning (waxing Moon sets before best rates)
18 December 2021	Apogee Full Moon (12:00 pm)
21 December 2021	Earth is at Solstice
23-30 December 2021	four bight planets, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter line up in the evening twilight, on the 29th Venus and Mercury are at their closest.
1 January 2022	Thin crescent Moon very close to Mars low in the morning sky. Occultation seen in south eastern and south central Australia

Labels: asteroids, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Meteors, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

Jupiter and Saturn on 12 December 2020 at 21:25 ACDST, (60 Minutes after Sunset) as seen from Adelaide, the inset shows the approximate telescopic view of Jupiter and the ringed world with a 4" Newtonian and a 6 mm eyepiece. Most of Australia will enjoy similar views 60 Minutes after Sunset (although you may want to observe earlier if your telecope can not point to far downwards). we may have to wait another 20 years to see a similar pairing. Click to embiggen.

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2020 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific). This year we only get penumbral Lunar eclipses under very poor conditions. There is a very good opposition of Mars though, and a spectacular Jupiter and Saturn conjunction. Venus travels through the Pleiades and displays its crescent form.

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 

Special events are bolded.

Date	Event
January
11 January 2020	Penumbral lunar eclipse in the morning, close to dawn.
21 January 2020	Crescent Moon and Mars close in the morning
23 January 2020	Crescent Moon and Jupiter close in the morning
27 January 2020	Venus and Neptune close
26 January 2020	Mercury close to the crescent moon in the evening twilight
28 January 2020	Venus close to the crescent moon in the evening
February
18 February 2020	Mars passes between the triffid and Lagoon Nebulae
19 February 2020	Waxing Moon close to Mars in the morning
20 February 2020	Waxing Moon extremely close to Jupiter in the morning
21 February 2020	Waxing Moon close to Saturn in the morning
27 February 2020	Waning Crescent Moon close to Venus
29 February 2020	Mars close to Globular cluster M22
March
1 March 2020	Mars still close to Globular cluster M22
8-9 March 2020	Venus close to Uranus (binocular only)
18 March 2020	Waning Crescent Moon forms a line with Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the morning sky
19 March 2020	Crescent Moon between Mars and Jupiter and Saturn
20 March 2020	Earth at Equinox
21 March 2020	Mars very close to Jupiter
22 March 2020	Mercury close to the crescent Moon in the morning
29March 2020	Venus close to the crescent Moon in the evening
April
1 April 2020	Saturn close to Mars in the morning sky
3-4 April 2020	Venus passes through the Pleiades cluster
4 April 2020	Mercury close to Neptune
8 April 2020	Perigee Full Moon ("super" Moon), 3:10 am
15 April 2020	waning Moon close to Jupiter in the morning sky
16 April 2020	waning Moon close to Saturn in the morning sky
22 April 2020	Crescent Moon close to Mercury in the morning sky
26-27 April 2020	Crescent Moon near Venus in the evening sky
May
5 May 2020	Eta Aquariid meteor shower
12 May 2020	Moon between Jupiter and Saturn in evening sky
15-16 May 2020	Mars near the waning Moon
22 May 2020	Mercury and Venus close
24 May 2020	Thin crescent Moon near Venus
June
6 June 2020	Penumbral lunar eclipse early morning near dawn
8 June 2020	Moon and Jupiter close in evening
9 June 2020	waning Moon and Saturn close in evening
13 June 2020	Moon and Mars close in morning
19 June 2020	Thin crescent Moon and Venus close in the morning twilight
July
5 July 2020	Jupiter close to the moon
6 July 2020	Moon and Saturn close
11 July 2020	Moon and Mars close in evening
12 July 2020	Venus close to bright star Aldebaran
14 July 2020	Jupiter at Opposition
17 July 2020	Thin crescent Moon near Venus in the morning
21 July 2020	Saturn at Opposition
29 July 2020	Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower
August
2 August 2020	Moon between Jupiter and Saturn
9 August 2020	Moon close to Mars
15-16 August 2020	Crescent Moon close to Venus
28 August 20	Asteroid Ceres at opposition (binoculars only)
29 August 2020	Moon between Jupiter and Saturn again
September
5-6 September 2020	Mars close to the Moon
14 September 2020	Venus and crescent Moon close in morning sky
19 September 2020	Crescent Moon and Mercury close forming triangle with Spica
24 September 2020	Variable star Mira at its brightest
22 September 2020	Mercury and bright star Spica very close
22 September 2020	Earth at Equinox
25 September 2020	Waxing Moon, Jupiter form a triangle with Saturn
30 September 2020	Venus close to bright star Regulus
October
2-3 October 2020	Mars and waning Moon close
3 October 2020	Venus and the bright star Regulus very close
14 October 2020	Venus and the crescent Moon close
14 October 2020	Mars at opposition
18 October 2020	Mercury and thin crescent Moon closeish in the evening twilight
21 October 2020	Orionid meteor shower
22 October 2020	Jupiter and waning Moon close
23 October 2020	Saturn and waning Moon close
31 October 2020	Blue Moon in WA.
November
1 November 2020	Apogee Full Moon (mini-Moon). In WA full Moon occurs before midnight but for all states apogee is on the early morning of the 1st.
13 November 2020	Thin crescent Moon close to Venus
14 November 2020	Thin crescent Moon close to Mercury
18 November 2020	Leonid Meteor Shower
19 November 2020	Crescent Moon and Jupiter close forming triangle with Saturn
24-25 November 2020	Waxing Moon close to Mars
30 November 2020	Penumbral Lunar eclipse, only seen from eastern states. Blue Moon of all states except WA. (see above)
December
13 December 2020	Venus and thin crescent Moon close
14 December 2020	Geminid Meteor shower (New Moon, good rates)
17 December 2020	Jupiter and Saturn spectacularly close with the thin crescent Moon close too.
21 December 2020	Jupiter and Saturn even more spectacularly close in a conjunction that will not be repeated for over a decade. The pair will easily be visible together in telescope eye pieces.
21 December 2020	Earth is at Solstice
23-24 December 2020	Waxing Moon close to Mars

Labels: asteroids, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Meteors, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

If you have cloudy nights and want to help out with mapping the terrain of asteroid Bennau, the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission needs your help. The original CosmoQuest Bennu Mappers program has been extended. If you would like to help mapping craters, boulders, and rocks on asteroid Bennu why not join the cosmoquest campaign?  See here for details: https://bennu.cosmoquest.org/

Labels: asteroids, public outreach

Sky at 22:00 ACST on Saturday, May 25  looking east as seen from Adelaide. Similar views will be seen esewhere in Australia at and equivalent local time (click to embiggen). Ceres is below Antares and bright enough to be easily seen in binoculars. Jupiter is high above the eastern horizon with Saturn below. The left upper insert inset shows the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time, the left lower insert that of Saturn.

Black and white binocular chart suitable for printing (click to embiggen and print). The large circle represents the field of view of 10x50 binoculars. The small that of a 4" Newtonian telescope with a 24 mm eyepiece. Use the horizon charts for orientation first.

Ceres is at Opposition on the 29th of May. Currently around magnitude 7, it is readily visible in binoculars. Ceres is relatively easy to find, below below and to the north of Antares and above Jupiter. Ceres can be seen to move from night to night, brightening gradually.

Ceres is easy to spot with a bit of start hopping. Over the next few days it is between Chi (ꭕ) and Phi (ᶲ) Ophiuchi. While close to Antares, it is better to locate Acrab (ß1 Scorpii) the second brightest star just up from Antares, which forms a distinctive triangle with the close pair Omega (⍵) Scorpii and Jabbah (𝜈 Scorpii).

If you fool the line formed by Acab and Jabbah, the next bright star you come to is Chi (ꭕ) Ophiuchi, with Phi (ᶲ) Ophiuchi below that. Ceres is brightest object between the pair, and can be seen to move over the coming days.

Sky at 22:00 ACST on Saturday, May 25  looking east as seen from Adelaide. This is a higer magnification spotters map to find the dwarf planet Ceres.	Sky at 22:00 ACST on Saturday, May 29  looking east as seen from Adelaide. This is a higer magnification spotters map to find the dwarf planet Ceres.

Labels: asteroids, binocular, Ceres

Asteroid (6478) Gault as seen at 3:36 Local time for Mayhill, New Mexico, when it is at transit. The Comet is near nu (ν) Hydrae not far from Crater . Click to embiggen.	Asteroid (6478) Gault as seen at 4:37 Local time for SSO, Siding Spring, when it is at transit (astronomical twilight starts at 4:33). The Comet is near nu (ν) Hydrae not far from Crater . Click to embiggen.

Telescope view of Asteroid (6478) Gault. The large square is the field of View of T30 (SSO) and the small that of T17 (SSO) the medium rectangle is T5 (Mayhill). The orientation is upside down from the spotters maps.

Asteroid (6478) Gault has been reported to have a comet like tail, from CBET 4594 “The tail/trail first appears in individual ATLAS exposures on 2018 Dec. 8, as identified by Denneau, with a median combined 120-s exposure showing a tail 30" long in p.a. 290 degrees. There is no evidence of a tail in previous ATLAS imaging in January 2018. An initial analysis using a cometary Finson-Probstein model (cf. website URL http://comet-toolbox.com/FP.html, as perJ.-B. Vincent) shows that both the Dec. 2018 and Jan. 2019 data are consistent with the ejection of material or commencement of activity in early Nov. 2018”. Previous images from ATLAS and PanSTARRS show no cometary-like activity back to 2010.

It has been suggested a collision or impact is responsible for the tail. Ongoing observation of the phenomenon should be undertaken to understand its nature.

Asteroid (6478) Gault is visible from both Northern and southern scopes from with transit around 3:30 am (northernscopes) and 4:30 am (Southern scopes), however, this is just past astronomical twilight at SSO, so imaging should begin before this. The Southern scopes have the best view with the asteroid potentially visible from 12:30 am local time.

Asteroid (6478) Gault is currently magnitude 18.7, and will need long exposures on narrow field scopes with tracking for the best results.


Image of Asteroid (6478) Gault by Ulrich Eberhard Stickel using iTelesope T30, 300sec BIN2. Please do not use without his permission.

iTelescope users Ulrich Eberhard Stickel and Denis Denisenko have achieved images with T30 from SSO. Denis Denisenko's is at this link: http://scan.sai.msu.ru/~denis/Comet/6478-T30-20190108.jpg










The MPC one line ephemeris is:

06478   14.4   0.15 K194R 289.34905   83.26761  183.55769   22.81135  0.1935870  0.28161558   2.3051451  0 MPO435760  1093  19 1988-2018 0.44 M-v 38h MPC        0000   (6478) Gault              20180209

Example plan for following the asteroid, check filter availability.

;
; Single target image example, adjust filter as necessary for chosen scope. 
; 

#trackon
#count 3
#interval 300
#binning 2
#filter Red
06478   14.4   0.15 K194R 289.34905   83.26761  183.55769   22.81135  0.1935870  0.28161558   2.3051451  0 MPO435760  1093  19 1988-2018 0.44 M-v 38h MPC        0000   (6478) Gault              20180209
#shutdown

Labels: alert, asteroids, iTelescope

The Moon and Saturn on 9 October 2019 at 04:00 ACDST, as seen form Alice Springs, the inset shows the telescopic view of the ringed world and the edge of the Moon just before occulation.  Most of northern Australia will enjoy similar views. Click to embiggen.

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2019 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific).

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 

Special events are bolded.

Sadly, the partial solar eclipse is just visible from parts of northern Australia, and the partial lunar eclipse is somewhat sad, but we have three occultations of Saturn and a number of beautiful planetary events to keep us occupied. The asteroid Vesta should be (just) visible to the unaided eye too.

Date	Event
2 January 2019	Venus close to crescent Moon in morning
3-4  January 2019	Crescent Moon and Jupiter close
4  January 2019	Crescent Moon near Mercury
12-13 January 2019	waxing Moon and Mars close
14 January 2019	Mercury a bit over a finger-width from Saturn low in the morning twilight
21 January 2019	Perigee Full Moon ("super" Moon, strictly at its biggest on the morning of the 22nd)
23 January 2019	Venus and Jupiter close in the morning
31 January 2019	Crescent Moon and Jupiter close again
1 February 2019	Crescent Moon close to Venus in the morning sky
2-3 February 2019	Crescent Moon close to Saturn in the morning
10 February 2019	Waxing Moon close to Mars
12-13 February 2019	Uranus close to Mars (binocular viewing)
20 February 2019	Perigee Full Moon ("super" Moon, strictly at its biggest on the evening of the 19th)
28 February 2019	Waning Moon close to Jupiter
2 March 2019	Crescent Moon close to Saturn in the morning
3 March 2019	Crescent Moon close to Venus in the morning sky
11 March 2019	Crescent Moon close to Mars
30 March 2019	Waning Moon close to Saturn
2-3 April 2019	Crescent Moon close to Venus in the morning sky
3 April 2019	Crescent Moon close to Mercury in the morning sky
9 April 2019	Moon close to Mars in evening sky
23 April 2019	waning Moon close to Jupiter in the evening sky
25 April 2019	Occultation of Saturn by the Moon, very low on horizon
4-25 May 2019	Asteroid Ceres visible in binoculars (opposition on 28th)
3 May 2019	Crescent Moon close to Venus in the morning sky
6 May 2019	Eta Aquariid meteor shower.
8 May 2019	Crescent Moon close to Mars
19 May 2019	Venus and Uranus a finger-width apart in the morning twilight (binoculars)
20 May 2019	Jupiter near waning Moon
22 May 2019	Waning Moon close to Saturn
1-29 June 2019	Asteroid Ceres visible in binoculars
2 June 2019	Crescent Moon and Venus close in twilight
4 June 2019	Crescent Moon and Mercury close
5 June 2019	Crescent Moon and Mars close
11 June 2019	Jupiter at Opposition
16 June 2019	Jupiter and Full Moon close
19 June 2019	Moon and Saturn close
4 July 2019	Mercury close to Crescent Moon and Mars in the twilight
10 July 2019	Saturn at Opposition
13-14 July 2019	Moon and Jupiter close
16 July 2019	Moon and Saturn close
16-17 July 2019	Partial Lunar Eclipse, early morning, really only visible from WA and a bit in the Central states
30 July 2019	Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower
10 August 2019	Moon close to Jupiter
12 August 2019	Moon close to Saturn, Occultation seen on East coast only
6 September 2019	Waxing Moon and Jupiter close
8-9 September 2019	Saturn close to Moon, Occultation in northern and Western Australia
13 September 2019	Apogee Full Moon (mini-Moon)
29 September 2019	Mercury close to bright star Spica
30 September 2019	Crescent Moon close to Spica and Mercury with Venus below
3-5 October 2019	Venus and the bright star Spica close
4 October 2019	Jupiter and waxing Moon close
6 October 2019	Saturn and waxing Moon close
22 October 2019	Orionid meteor shower
24 October 2019	Variable star Mira at its brightest
29 October 2019	Mercury, Venus and Crescent Moon close
31 October 2019	Jupiter and waxing Moon close
2 November 2019	waxing Moon close to Saturn
9 November 2019	Jupiter crescent Moon close
11 November 2019	Crescent Moon and Saturn close
12 November 2019	Asteroid Vesta at opposition, potentially (just) visible with the unaided eye
17 November 2019	Leonid Meteor Shower
24 November 2019	Jupiter and Venus just two finger-widths apart
25 November 2019	the Crescent Moon, Mars and Mercury form a triangle in the dawn sky
28-29 November 2019	the Crescent Moon, Jupiter and Venus form a line in the evening twilight
2 December 2019	Venus close to the globular cluster M22 in the evening twilight (binocular)
11 December 2019	Venus and Saturn two finger-widths apart
15 December 2019	Geminid Meteor shower (full Moon, poor rates)
23 December 2019	Crescent Moon close to Mars in morning sky
26 December 2019	Partial Eclipse of the Sun, visible only in northern Australia
27 December 2019	Crescent Moon close to Saturn in the evening twilight
29 December 2019	Crescent Moon close to Venus in the evening sky

Labels: asteroids, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

Evening sky showing the location of the asteroid 4 Vesta on 20 June when at opposition. The view is looking east as seen from Adelaide at 22:00 ACST. Saturn is high above the horizon and Mars is clearly visible. The Asteroid Vesta is visible to the north near Saturn. (click to embiggen, similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time).	Simulated binocular view of the region near Saturn showing the open cluster M24 and Vesta on Monday June 4 looking east  as seen from Adelaide at 22:00 ACST. Vesta is above M24 and in a direct line with Mu Sag and Kaus Borealis. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

The Asteroid 4 Vesta is one of the iconic minor planets, and one of two orbited by the Dawn spacecraft. Importantly at favourable oppositions Vesta is bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye under dark sky conditions.

Labels: 4 Vesta, asteroids, binoculars, unaided eye

Evening sky on Thursday May 17 looking east  as seen from Adelaide at 22:00 ACST. Saturn and Mars are clearly visible above the horizon. The Asteroid Vesta is visible in binoculars to the left (north) of Saturn. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).	Simulated binocular view of the region near Saturn showing the open cluster M24 and Vesta on Thursday May 17 looking east  as seen from Adelaide at 22:00 ACST. Vest will be close to M24 for around a week. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

The asteroid 4 Vesta is now easily visible in binoculars, and is just under unaided eye visibility. It is brightening towards its opposition on 19 June, when it will be a potentially unaided eye object at magnitude 5.3.

Black and white binocular chart suitable for printing showing the movement of 4 Vesta over the next 30 days. Click to embiggen and print.

Now in Sagittarius, it is skimming along side the open cluster M24. This will look particularly nice in binoculars and wide field telescopes.

Locate Saturn in binoculars and sweep left (north) until you reach an obvious open cluster (M24). Vesta is brighter than most of the stars in the cluster, and starts at the bottom of the cluster, then moves up over subsequent days. 

You may need to watch over several nights to watch it move and confirm its identity. Towards the end of the month the waxing Moon will make the asteroid harder to see.

Labels: 4 Vesta, asteroids, binoculars

The planets on 13 October 2018 at 21:15 ACDST, 45 minutes after sunset, All 5 bright classical planets, Neptune and the crescent Moon form a line in the evening twilight. Uranus is just rising at this time. Click to embiggen.

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2018 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific) are listed in this table.

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 


Special events are bolded.

Sadly, the partial solar eclipse is just visible from parts of southern Australia, but we have two good total lunar eclipses, the best for some years, and there are a number of beautiful planetary events to keep us occupied. There may even be an unaided eye comet and asteroid Vesta should be visible to the unaided eye too.

UPDATE: reader Scott has created an iCal for this list that you can import into your calendar.  I have htmlised the link http://subscriptions.thismonkey.com//fixtures/astro/calendars/astro/2018/1/astro_1_2018.ics

Date	Event
1 January 2018	Mars three finger-widths from Jupiter in the morning skies
2 January 2018	Perigee ("Super") Moon
7 January 2018	Jupiter and Mars at their closest, less than half a finger-width apart
12 January 2018	Crescent Moon, Mars and Jupiter form a triangle
13 January 2018	Mercury less than a finger-width from Saturn in the morning sky
15 January 2018	thin crescent Moon near Mercury and Saturn
27-31 January 2018	Asteroid Ceres visible in binoculars
31 January 2018	Blue Moon, Total Lunar Eclipse ~11pm AEST
8 February 2018	Waning Moon close to Jupiter in Morning sky
10 February 2018	Waning Moon close to Mars
13 February 2018	Crescent Moon close to Saturn
4 March 2018	Venus and Mercury very close, low in the evening twilight
7 March 2018	Moon close to Jupiter
10-11 March 2018	Moon close to Mars
11-12 March 2018	Moon close to Saturn
19 March 2018	thin crescent Moon close to Mercury and Venus in evening twilight
20 March 2018	Mars close to Triffid Nebula
1-3 April 2018	Mars and globular cluster M22 less than a finger-width apart in morning sky
2 April 2018	Mars and Saturn close, a finger-width apart
3 April 2018	Moon close to Jupiter in evening sky
15 April 2018	thin crescent Moon close to Mercury in morning twilight
18 April 2018	crescent Moon close to Venus in evening sky
30 April 2018	Moon close to Jupiter in evening sky
1-30 May 2018	Saturn within 2finger-widths of globular cluster M22, closest on the 15th
4 May 2018	Moon close to Saturn
6 May 2018	Moon close to Mars
6 May 2018	Eta Aquariid meteor shower.
9 May 2018	Jupiter at opposition
14-15 May 2018	Mars less than half a finger-width from globular cluster M75
17-18 May 2018	crescent Moon close to Venus
21 May 2018	Venus close to M35
27 May 2018	Moon close to Jupiter
1 June 2018	Moon and Saturn close
3 June 2018	Moon and Mars close
16 June 2018	Crescent Moon near Venus
19 June 2018	Asteroid Vesta at opposition, potentially visible with the unaided eye
20 June 2018	Venus in the Beehive cluster
21 June 2018	crescent Moon and Venus close
23 June 2018	Moon and Jupiter close
27 June 2018	Saturn at opposition
28 June 2018	Saturn close to the Moon
1 July 2018	Mars and Moon close
4 July 2018	Mercury close to Beehive cluster
13 July 2018	Partial Eclipse of the sun, visible only southern SA and VIC
15 July 2018	thin crescent Moon and  Mercury close in the twilight
16 July 2018	crescent Moon and Venus close
21 July 2018	Moon and Jupiter close
25 July 2018	Moon and Saturn close
27 July 2018	Mars at Opposition, the best since 2003
28 July 2018	Total Lunar Eclipse, early morning
30 July 2018	Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower
14 August 2018	Crescent Moon close to Venus
17 August 2018	Moon close to Jupiter
21 August 2018	Moon close to Saturn
30 August 2018	Saturn close to Triffid Nebula
1-2 September 2018	Venus and Spica close
12-13 September 2018	Crescent Moon close to Venus
14 September 2018	crescent Moon close to Jupiter
18 September 2018	Moon close to Saturn
20 September 2018	Moon and Mars close
10-20 October 2018	All 5 bright planets visible in early evening sky
10 October 2018	Mercury and Crescent Moon close
11 October 2018	crescent Moon near Venus
12 October 2018	crescent Moon close to Jupiter
15 October 2018	Moon close to Saturn
16 October 2018	Venus and Mercury close
18 October 2018	Moon close to Mars.
22 October 2018	Orionid meteor shower
28 October 2018	Mercury and Jupiter close
9 November 2018	Jupiter crescent Moon close
11 November 2018	Crescent Moon and Saturn close
16 November 2018	Moon close to Mars
17 November 2018	Leonid Meteor Shower
26 November 2018	Variable star Mira at its brightest
1-20 December 2018	Comet 46P potentially visible to the unaided eye
4 December 2018	Crescent Moon close to Venus in morning twilight
9 December 2018	Crescent Moon close to Saturn in evening twilight
15 December 2018	Geminid Meteor shower
14-15 December 2018	Moon close to Mars
22 December 2018	Jupiter and Mercury very close in dawn sky

Labels: asteroids, comet, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

The location of asteroid 7 Iris as seen from Adelaide at local midnight (daylight savings time). Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen).

Asteroid 7 Iris is the 4th brightest asteroid, and one of the main belt asteroids. Normally at opposition it is around magnitude 7.8, around the limit of strong binoculars in suburban settings, but this opposition is a favourable one, with the asteroid currently magnitude 7.3, too dim for the unaided eye, but achivable with 10x50 or stronger binoculars and small telescopes under suburban skies.

As well, the asteroid is near some obvious guide stars. The asteroid is near gamma Arietis, the dimmiest of the three bright stars in Aries. At midnight the threes will be almost due north, to the left of the distinctive triangle of the Hyades, the head of Taurus the bull.

Printable black and white chart suitable for binoculars showing the field of view around the three bright stars of Aries. Hamal the brightest star is shown in this chart and the chart above for orientation, the field of view of 10x50 binoculars is shown as the large circle, and the field of view of a 24mm eyepiece with a 114 mm Newtonian reflector is the small circle. The chart is in the same orientation as the chart above (click to embiggen and print).

Gamma Arietis is easily found star hopping up from the obvious Hamal to beta Areitis, then gamma. From the 16th to 20th 7 Iris is the brightest object near gamma Arietis. You may need to watch it from night to night to see it move. On the 22nd it is close to the moderately bright (in binoculars and telescopes anyway, it is just on unaided eye limit) HIP 8689, which is the emext brightest star in the field hopping up from gamma Arietis.

Printable black and white chart suitable for telescopes showing the field of view around gamma Arietis. This chart is in telescope orientsion so is upside down from the two charts above. The field of view of a 24mm eyepiece with a 114 mm Newtonian reflector is the circle. (click to embiggen and print).


The asteroid is at its highest around 11:30 pm (daylight savings time) and is reasonably high for good observation.

Ephemeris of Iris
Date        Mag Ast Twi  Rise     Altitude     Transit  Set      Ast Twi B 
16 Nov 2017 7.2 21:38:35 18:21:32 +35° 35' 02" 23:27:57 04:38:30 04:23:07 
17 Nov 2017 7.3 21:39:56 18:16:40 +35° 35' 39" 23:23:34 04:34:34 04:22:07 
18 Nov 2017 7.3 21:41:18 18:11:51 +35° 35' 00" 23:19:13 04:30:39 04:21:09 
19 Nov 2017 7.3 21:42:39 18:07:04 +35° 33' 07" 23:14:54 04:26:46 04:20:14 
20 Nov 2017 7.3 21:44:00 18:02:20 +35° 30' 00" 23:10:36 04:22:55 04:19:20 
21 Nov 2017 7.4 21:45:21 17:57:38 +35° 25' 41" 23:06:21 04:19:05 04:18:28 
22 Nov 2017 7.4 21:46:41 17:52:58 +35° 20' 11" 23:02:08 04:15:16 04:17:38 
23 Nov 2017 7.4 21:48:01 17:48:22 +35° 13' 32" 22:57:57 04:11:29 04:16:50 
24 Nov 2017 7.5 21:49:19 17:43:48 +35° 05' 46" 22:53:49 04:07:44 04:16:04 
25 Nov 2017 7.5 21:50:38 17:39:17 +34° 56' 55" 22:49:42 04:04:00 04:15:21 
26 Nov 2017 7.5 21:51:55 17:34:48 +34° 46' 59" 22:45:38 04:00:18 04:14:39 
27 Nov 2017 7.6 21:53:12 17:30:23 +34° 36' 02" 22:41:35 03:56:37 04:14:00 
28 Nov 2017 7.6 21:54:27 17:26:00 +34° 24' 05" 22:37:35 03:52:58 04:13:23 
29 Nov 2017 7.6 21:55:42 17:21:40 +34° 11' 10" 22:33:38 03:49:20 04:12:49 
30 Nov 2017 7.6 21:56:55 17:17:23 +33° 57' 19" 22:29:42 03:45:45 04:12:17 
01 Dec 2017 7.7 21:58:07 17:13:09 +33° 42' 35" 22:25:49 03:42:10 04:11:47 
02 Dec 2017 7.7 21:59:18 17:08:58 +33° 27' 00" 22:21:58 03:38:37 04:11:20 
03 Dec 2017 7.7 22:00:27 17:04:50 +33° 10' 35" 22:18:09 03:35:06 04:10:56 
04 Dec 2017 7.8 22:01:35 17:00:45 +32° 53' 23" 22:14:22 03:31:36 04:10:34 
05 Dec 2017 7.8 22:02:42 16:56:42 +32° 35' 25" 22:10:38 03:28:08 04:10:15 

Labels: asteroids, binocular, telescope

Location of 3122 Florence tonight as seen from Adelaide at 22:00 when it is highest in the sky. The asteroid is just below  the constellation of Delphinus. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia (and most of  the southern hemisphere) at an equivalent local time. Click to embiggen.

Although NEO Florence (and its newly discovered Moons) has made its record breaking approach to Earth and is now heading away and fading,  it is still an interesting telescopic object although dim (magnitude 9) that can be seen to visibly move over a reasonably short observation period.

Over the past few nights the asteroid has not had any good guide stars, making it hard for amateurs without GOTO scopes or modest equipment. Tonight the asteroid will be below the distinctive small constellation od Deplhinus, making for relatively easy star hopping.

Printable black and white chart showing the track of 3122 Florence from the 28th on. The Asteroid passes from close to Grus the crane, through and southern skies passing through Capricornius and Delphinus then Cygnus (click to embiggen and print).

After tonight as it passes through Cygnus it will be getting too low in the  sky for Southern hemisphere obsevers.

Printable black and white chart  suitable for telescope showing the track of 3122 Florence from the 3rd, the large circle is the field of view of 10x50 binoculars, he small circle is the field of view of a 23 mm eyepiece and a 114 mm reflector. The chart is oriented for a telescopes inverted view. The chart is set for 22:00 and each tick is at an hour interval (click to embiggen and print).
At 22:00 3122 Florence is 4 degrees below 3.8 alpha Delphinus (α on the chart) and 54' above 4.8 magnitude 29 Vulpernica (29 on the chart). As the night progresses the asteroid come nearer to 29 Vul, grazing it shortly after midnight.

The distinctive treadrop shape of the constellation of Delphinus and alpha Del will be reasonably easy to see in the Moonlight. Aim your scope at alpha Del and scan toward the horizon with a widefield eyepiece. The next brightest star is 29 Vul. With 29 Del at the edge of your field Florence should be just above it (or below it, in inverted telescope view), watching over 15-30 minutes you should see the asteroid move substantially against the background stars.

Labels: asteroids, NEO, telescope

NEO 3122 Florence as seen from Adelaide on 1 September at 23:24 when the asteroid is highest in the sky (similar views will be seen from other Australian locations at an equivalent local time. click to embiggen).

NEO 3122 Florence makes an historic approach to Earth in early September. This will be the closest this asteroid, named after reforming nurse Florence Nightingale has come since 1890.

While not a particularly close approach (September 1, 12:06 UT, 0.047 AU, around 18 Earth-Moon distances), this will be the closest a large NEO has come to Earth since this class of objects were first described.

With a diameter of about 4.3 km, Florence ranks fourth in diameter of those NEO's classified as potentially hazardous. It is also the brightest of the Large NEO's, brighter than 3200 Phaeton (the asteroid responsible for the Geminid meteor shower).

Printable black and white chart showing the track of 3122 Florence from the 28th on. The Asteroid passes from close to Grus the crane, through and southern skies passing through Capricornius and Delphinus then Cygnus (click to embiggen and print)

The asteroid will range from magnitude 9 up to around magnitude 8.7 then fading down to 10.

This means that the asteroid is potentially viewable in good binoculars (10x50's and up) under dark sky conditions.  However, the waxing Moon will make binocular detection harder closer to closest approach. It will remain easily visible in small telescopes even with the increasing moonlight.

Printable black and white chart  suitable for binoculars showing the track of 3122 Florence from the 1st, the large circle is the field of view of 10x50 binoculars, (click to embiggen and print)

Although the asteroid is effectively on a line between the bright stars Fomalhaut and Altair, Finding the asteroid can be a bit tricky without good maps.

On the 29th, the asteroid is 22" from Zeta (ζ) Capricorii, and so should be easy to spot. You will need to watch the stars around  Zeta for around 15 minutes to detect the movement of Florence.

On the 30 the brightening Florence is within 22' of 29 Capricorii (which forms a triangle with iota and theta Capricornii), again, watching for 10-15 minutes will detect the asteroid drifting. 

On the 31st the asteroid is between mu and beta Aquarii, but is not close to a useful guide star.

Printable black and white chart  suitable for telescope showing the track of 3122 Florence from the 1st, tthe large circle is the field of view of 10x50 binoculars, he small circle is the field of view of a 23 mm eyepiece and a 114 mm refractor.(click to embiggen and print)

On the first the asteroid is within binocular distance of alpha Equuleus, and between that and 1 Aquarii, but again is not near any obvious guide star. Still if you watch for 10-15 minutes you will see the asteroid drift against the background stars.

Many instruments will be watching this approach, including the Goldstone radar to try and capture its shape and possible satellites.

While not spectacular, this will be an historic pass to witness, the next closest approach of Florence is in 2057.

Labels: asteroids, binocular, NEO, telescope

Asteroid 2014 JO25 ziping along with the scope tracking on the asteroid (the asteroid is the dot near the edge). 20 x 60 second luminance exposures with iTelescope T11 stacked and aligned in ImageJ. Imaging starts at 9:05 UT (3:05 am local time 20th) Click to embiggen.	Animation of the same 20 x 60 frames (click to embiggen for animated asteroidal goodness)

As Asteroid 2014 JO25 recedes from earth I was able to get some more images and animations. By the time I took the above images with iTelescope T11 in New Mexico, it had moved far enough away that I could track on the asteroid. Still moving at a fair clip and the stars are trailed.

Asteroid 2014 JO25 zips along receding from Earth with added satellite trails (the asteroid is the dotted line through the centre). 20 x 60 second luminance exposures with iTelescope T14 stacked and aligned in ImageJ. Imaging starts at 3:05 UT (9:05 pm local time 19th) Click to embiggen.	Animation of the same 20 x 60 frames (click to embiggen for animated asteroidal goodness)

Earlier in the UT day from T14, also New Mexico. Asteroid is moving too fast to track.

Asteroid 2014 JO25 near galaxy NGC 4710. 7 x 120 second luminance exposures with iTelescope T13 (Siding Spring Observaory) stacked and aligned in ImageJ. Imaging starts at 11:00 UT (9:05 pm local time 20th) Click to embiggen and see more galaxies.	Animation of the same 20 x 60 frames (click to embiggen for animated asteroidal goodness). Cloud comes over in the last frames.

Finally an image from telescope T13 at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia, choosing to track on the galaxies rather than the asteroid for a prettier composition. Clouds have ruined any chance of me seeing the asteroid with my own instruments.

Labels: 2014 JO25, asteroids, iTelescope

Asteroid 2014 JO25 zips past the magnitude 13.1 galaxy NGC 6248 while bracketed by satellite trails (the asteroid is the dotted line through the centre). 10 x 120 second luminance exposures with iTelescope T14 stacked and aligned in ImageJ. Imaging starts at 10:00 UT (4:00 am local time) Click to embiggen and see more galaxies.	Animation of the same 10 x 120 frames (click to embiggen for animated asteroidal goodness)

Asteroid 2014 JO25 is, as I type, making its closest approach to Earth (12:24 UT 19 April). Zipping past at 4.6 Earth-Moon distances at closest approach, this asteroid was moving at a speedy 92.2 arc seconds per minute whin I was  trying to image it, making imaging a tad challenging. However, using the remote telescopes of iTelescope in Mayhill New Mexico I succeeded (with a bit of bad luck with some cloud early on). With the wide-field T14 instrument I caught the asteroid zipping through a field of galaxies, looking rather nice.

Asteroid 2014 JO25 also at 10:00 UT taken with iTelescope T5, moving so fast the tracker is just barely coping (hint the asteroid is the only thing that is not a streak).

Australia gets its chance tomorrow, when  the asteroid zips through Virgo. It won't be as bright as at closest approach, but still within reach of modest amateur scopes.

This is the closest approach of asteroid 2015 JO25 for around 400 years, and it wont come this close again for another 500 years. 

The asteroid turn out to be a very interesting object, images from the Arecibo radio telescope show that the asteroid is a contact binary, and about twice the size we though it was, one of the two lobes is around 620 meters in diameter, see here and here of radio telescope "images" and animations from the Goldstone and Arecibo radio telescopes.

Labels: 2014 JO25, asteroids, iTelescope

Asteroid 2014 JO25 as seen from Adelaide facing north-east at 21:10 ACST 20 April (2 hours after astronomical twilight). Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (2 hours after local astronomical twilight), click to embiggen.

Asteroid 2014 JO25 will come close to Earth on 12:24 UT 19 April (19 April 22:24 AEST) at distance of 0.012 AU (around 4.6 Earth-Moon distances). At an estimated diameter of around 650m it is about the size of the Chelyabinsk impactor.

However, it will not be visible from Australia at closest approach (when it will be around magnitude 10.5). We only see the asteroid the following night (20th) when it has faded to magnitude 11.1. This is still within the range of most amateur scopes, but out of the range of all but the most powerful astronomical binoculars under dark skies.

Black and white printable spotters chart for asteroid 2014 JO25 as seen from Adelaide at 19:10 ACST 20 April (astronomical twilight) showing the track of the asteroid. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time ( local astronomical twilight), click to embiggen.  The crosses mark the position of the asteroid every 3 hours. The large circle  is the field of view of 10x50 binoculars, the small that of  a 24 mm eyepiece on a 4" Newtonian. Various guide stars are marked for use with the larger scale maps. Click to embiggen and print.

Asteroid 2014 JO25 moves from Coma Bernicies through Virgo on the evening of the 20th and through the 21st and 22nd as well.

Black and white printable chart for asteroid 2014 JO25 showing the track of the asteroid at modest magnification. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time ( local astronomical twilight), click to embiggen.

The crosses mark the position of the asteroid every 30 minutes. The large circle  is the field of view of 10x50 binoculars, the small that of  a 24 mm eyepiece on a 4" Newtonian. use the guide stars (see map above) to orient yourself. Click to embiggen and print.

It is not moving as fast as at closest approach, but still fast enough (84 -60 arc seconds/minute aover the course of the night), to visibly move over the space of 10-15 minutes.While there is still some paralax difference btween poistions plotted in a standard planaterium program and a proper topocentric ephemeris the difference is around 4 minutes of arc (mauch smaller than at closest approach and small enough that the charts here as a useful guide for all sites in Australia).

Black and white printable chart for asteroid 2014 JO25 showing the track of the asteroid at telescope magnification. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time ( local astronomical twilight), click to embiggen.

The crosses mark the position of the asteroid every 30 minutes. The circle  is the field of view of a 24 mm eyepiece on a 4" Newtonian. Stars down to magnitude 13 are shown use the guide stars (see map above) to orient yourself. Click to embiggen and print.

While theoretically visible from astronomical twilight on the 20th, it will be better to wait until after 20:00 (8pm) as the asteroid will be higer in the sky above the murk of the horizon. The asteroid will be difficult to spot, as it will be too  dim to see in finderscopes, but there are several useful guide stars.

If you draw an imaginary line between Arcturus and Regulus, then drop a line perpendicular to this line from Spica, the asteroid will  be almost at the intersection of these lines, within a binocular field of alpha Coma Cernicies and epsilon Virginis, just down from rho Virginis.Within that area, using the charts above, you can star hop to the location of the asteroid. While faint, you should be able to see it slowly move over a period of several minutes.

For topocentric ephemerides go to http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/MPEph/MPEph.html
type 2014 JO25 in the input box and enter you latitude and longitude (the times give are all UT, so you will need to convert to your local time). Ephemeris start date: is 20170420, and choose 50 output, ephemeris interval 30 minutes.  Here is the ephemeris for Siding Spring Observatory (not to differnt from the ephemeris for Adelaide).

     K14J25O       [H=18.1]
Date       UT      R.A. (J2000) Decl.    Delta     r     El.    Ph.   V      Sky Motion        Object    Sun   Moon                Uncertainty info
            h m s                                                            "/min    P.A.    Azi. Alt.  Alt.  Phase Dist. Alt.    3-sig/" P.A.
... Suppressed ...
2017 04 20 080000 12 54 10.5 +18 47 38   0.020   1.021  146.4  32.9  11.0   83.76    199.6    247  +02   -06   0.41   122  -41        10 063.7 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 083000 12 53 12.3 +18 08 47   0.020   1.022  146.9  32.5  11.0   81.18    199.6    243  +08   -12   0.41   122  -43        10 064.1 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 090000 12 52 15.8 +17 31 08   0.020   1.022  147.3  32.0  11.1   78.71    199.7    239  +14   -18   0.41   123  -43        10 064.6 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 093000 12 51 21.1 +16 54 39   0.021   1.022  147.8  31.6  11.1   76.33    199.7    234  +20   -25   0.41   123  -43        10 065.0 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 100000 12 50 28.2 +16 19 16   0.021   1.023  148.1  31.2  11.1   74.05    199.7    229  +26   -31   0.40   124  -41         9 065.5 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 103000 12 49 36.8 +15 44 57   0.021   1.023  148.5  30.9  11.1   71.84    199.8    223  +31   -38   0.40   124  -39         9 065.9 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 110000 12 48 47.1 +15 11 39   0.022   1.023  148.9  30.5  11.1   69.71    199.8    216  +36   -44   0.40   124  -36         9 066.4 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 113000 12 47 59.0 +14 39 20   0.022   1.024  149.2  30.2  11.2   67.66    199.8    208  +40   -50   0.40   125  -32         9 066.8 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 120000 12 47 12.4 +14 07 58   0.022   1.024  149.5  29.8  11.2   65.68    199.8    199  +43   -56   0.40   125  -28         8 067.3 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 123000 12 46 27.3 +13 37 31   0.023   1.024  149.8  29.5  11.2   63.76    199.8    189  +45   -61   0.39   125  -23         8 067.8 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 130000 12 45 43.7 +13 07 57   0.023   1.025  150.1  29.2  11.2   61.90    199.7    178  +46   -66   0.39   126  -18         8 068.2 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 133000 12 45 01.6 +12 39 14   0.023   1.025  150.4  28.9  11.3   60.10    199.6    167  +45   -69   0.39   126  -12         8 068.7 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 140000 12 44 20.9 +12 11 20   0.024   1.026  150.7  28.7  11.3   58.36    199.5    157  +44   -71   0.39   126  -07         8 069.1 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 143000 12 43 41.7 +11 44 14   0.024   1.026  150.9  28.4  11.3   56.68    199.4    147  +41   -69   0.38   127  -01         8 069.6 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 150000 12 43 03.8 +11 17 53   0.024   1.026  151.2  28.2  11.3   55.04    199.3    139  +38   -66   0.38   127  +05         7 070.0 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 153000 12 42 27.4 +10 52 17   0.025   1.027  151.4  28.0  11.4   53.46    199.2    131  +33   -62   0.38   127  +11         7 070.5 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 160000 12 41 52.3 +10 27 23   0.025   1.027  151.6  27.7  11.4   51.93    199.0    124  +28   -56   0.38   128  +17         7 070.9 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 163000 12 41 18.5 +10 03 10   0.026   1.027  151.8  27.5  11.4   50.44    198.8    119  +23   -51   0.38   128  +23         7 071.3 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 170000 12 40 46.1 +09 39 38   0.026   1.028  152.0  27.3  11.4   49.01    198.7    113  +17   -45   0.37   128  +30         7 071.8 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 173000 12 40 14.9 +09 16 44   0.026   1.028  152.2  27.1  11.5   47.62    198.5    108  +11   -38   0.37   129  +36         7 072.2 / Map / Offsets
2017 04 20 180000 12 39 44.9 +08 54 27   0.027   1.029  152.4  27.0  11.5   46.28    198.3    104  +05   -32   0.37   129  +42         6 072.7 / Map / Offsets
... Suppressed ...

Labels: asteroids, telescope