Asteroid Hunting - Please Help!

[JakePerthWA (Jake)]

Hi everyone!

If possible can someone please help me with some information???
I'm hoping to start myself on the track of becoming an Asteroid Hunter.

Can someone please tell me if I can do so with my 4inch Celestron 4SE???

It is full computerised etc and I know I will need to get a CCD camera etc.

Just hoping I don't have to upgrade to a bigger telescope!

Any information will be appreciated!

Thanks in advance

- Jake

[speach (Simon)]

I think you may be pushing the friendship with 100mm

[tonybarry (Tony)]

Hi Jake,

With a 4 inch telescope, your ability to find new asteroids will be limited.

But you can help to confirm the orbits of asteroids that are already discovered. This is done by observing the already known asteroid when it is predicted to pass in front of a star as seen at your locality. Just like a solar eclipse, which can only be seen from a particular place on earth ...but the star is not our sun, and the asteroid takes the place of the moon.

Asteroid occultations are something that is easy to do, even with a 50 mm scope (not a misprint !!) and the results are sent by the local area collector of results to the Minor Planet Centre for updating the orbital elements of asteroids.

Your best bet to find out more would be to read Jacqui Milner's excellent document on the topic here:-

http://www.occultations.org.nz/videotime/manual.htm

Regards,
Tony Barry
WSAAG

[theodog (Jeff)]

Hi Jake,

Yep asteroid hunting is a great sub-study in astronomy. A 4" scope could limit what you observe slightly but I observed my first with an old Meade 16XT CCD camera with a cheap 400mm f5.6 camera lens with an objective lens around 65mm I think. In fact I found it and then went looking to identify it.

This article may be of help
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-505-0-0-1-0.html
Also hours of reading, don't be put off by the reading OR any talk of huge programs for observation, at this site.
http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/

Good luck and please post any asteroid images in the Solar system section.

[Ric]

Hi Jake.

You might want to contact Dave Higgins, he is a member here but I haven't seen any posts from him in a while.

http://www.david-higgins.com/


Cheers