Hi all, last week I imaged dwarf planet Ceres near opposition in Sagittarius. Later when processing the data I realised how much it had moved across the sky during just a little over 15 minutes.
While imaging, I didn't notice its motion from frame to frame (each frame was 15.5 seconds), but it turns out this little fellow is moving like a speeding bullet!
I have created an image from the data, as well as a HD movie which shows the motion. Both are available here:
http://www.pbase.com/image/125830681
Image details:
Taken on 17/06/2010 with 10" Newtonian f/5 and ToUCam Pro SC1.
66 x 15.5 s with IR block filter.
About Ceres:
Ceres is the largest body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, having a diameter of 950 kms. It completes an orbit in 4.6 years and has a rotational period of 9 hours and 4 minutes.
At a maximum magnitude of 6.8 Ceres is not visible to the naked eye, unless perhaps viewed under exceptionally dark skies. It was discovered in 1801 by the italian Giuseppe Piazzi.
It is thought that Ceres is likely a surviving protoplanet which formed 4.57 billion years ago in the asteroid belt. While the majority of inner solar system protoplanets (including all lunar- to Mars-sized bodies) either merged with other protoplanets to form terrestrial planets or were ejected from the Solar System by Jupiter, Ceres is believed to have survived relatively intact. The NASA Dawn space probe is currently en route to explore both Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015.
Hope you enjoy! All comments critique etc welcome.
Regards,
Rolf
