Very Near NEO 2010 WC9

[Dennis]

Last night (14/15th May 2018 AEST), the NEO 2010 WC9 paid a reasonably close visit to the Brisbane skies, gliding silently by whilst the city slept soundly. Predictions for 2010 WC9 are for an even closer encounter at approx. 0.5 Lunar Distances on the next evening of 15/16th May 2018 (AEST).

To acquire the object, I had to leap frog the telescope ahead of the NEO as it crawled across the computer screen, in the simulated real time view of my planetarium program, The Sky X Pro.

I took a series of 60 sec exposures, with 54 frames recording the impression of 2010 WC9 as it ambled along its celestial path. Unfortunately, banks of faint clouds appeared at during the session, at times reducing, then blocking, the faint smattering of photons from the dim mag 15.1 object.:(

The “wobbly” appearance of the trail is as a result of periodic errors in the telescope mount’s gear train, as I was imaging at a relatively long focal length of 1932mm. This appearance is not caused by the asteroid tumbling!:P

Equipment details:
Tak Mewlon 210 F11.5
Tak x0.8 Reducer
Atik 414EX camera
EFL 1932mm

Image details:
UT:
2018-04-14
14:28 – 15:23

Date: 15/05/2018 AEST
Time: 12:38 AM 01:23AM AEST
Constellation: Hercules

Centre (RA, hms): 16h 47m 36.324s
Centre (Dec, dms): +15° 55' 03.086"
Size: 15.2 x 11.4 arcmin
Pixel scale: 0.67 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: Up is 189 degrees E of N

60 sec exposures
54 Frames

Processing:
Master Background Frame created to even out frame-to-frame variations that increase the file size of an animation.
Each individual 2010 WC9 Frame was them Blended with the Master Background Frame in Photoshop and the animation was generated from these 54 blended Frames.

Cheers

Dennis

[multiweb]

That is so cool. Love the animation. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Dennis]

Thanks Marc, I appreciate your comments.:)

It was a little tricky getting this sucker on the relatively small sensor of the Atik 414EX. When I downloaded the asteroid elements in The Sky X Pro, it seemed to change position slightly between each refreshed download compared to the current older position.:shrug:

Also, when I selected “Object Path” to display the predicted path, the drawn path and the object began to slowly diverge, and it looks like the drawn path was more accurate than the on-screen object as time advanced.

The Sky X pro shows 2010 WC9 passing in front of M10 at approx. 11:40pm tonight (AEST) 15th May 2018, as viewed from my Brisbane location, so those with bigger chips and faster ‘scopes should get some good shots.:)

Cheers

Dennis

[RickS]

Great catch, Dennis!

[gregbradley]

OMG. Great image.

How big do you think this object is given the size of it in an image from a nearly 2 metre focal length? It seems like it must be quite large, like several kilometres?

Greg.

[Dennis]

Thanks for your comments Rick and Greg, I appreciate them.:)

@Greg: From the following website:

"Estimates of its size range from 197 to 427 feet (60-130 meters), making the May 15 pass one of the closest approaches ever observed of an asteroid of this size.

This asteroid was “lost” and then found again.

The Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona first detected it on November 30, 2010, and astronomers watched it until December 10, when it became too faint to see. They didn’t have enough observations to track its orbit fully and so predict its return.

On May 8, 2018 – almost eight years later – astronomers discovered an asteroid and gave it the temporary designation ZJ99C60. Then they realized it was asteroid 2010 WC9, returning."

http://earthsky.org/space/lost-asteroid-to-pass-closely-may-15

Cheers

Dennis

[h0ughy]

wow looks like a space worm - fantastic catch

[multiweb]

Always amazed how you manage to find these things. It's investigative work then you have to figure out where it is when it's not where it's supposed to be and then there's the location on the ground and the timing that come into the mix. I have enough problems finding things that don't move like massive emission nebulae :lol:

[Troy]

Interesting as always

[Dennis]

Thanks Marc and Troy, I appreciate your comments.

On the evening of 15th May 2018 (AEST) NEO 2010 WC9 was predicted to glide past the magnificent Globular Cluster Messier 10 (M10) on its way to making its closest approach to our planet.

Estimates of the size of 2010 WC9 range from 197 to 427 feet (60-130 meters). The estimated close approach distance to our home planet is some 0.53 LD, which translates to approx. 126,400 miles (203,400 km).

I decided to use my Canon 7D Mk II to record this event as it has a larger sensor than the ATIK 414EX, and sensor real estate is crucial in locating and recording these fast-moving objects.:)

After downloading the latest elements in The Sky X Pro, I slewed to the plotted position and began a series of test exposures, but NEO 2010 WC9 was nowhere to be seen. I checked my Latitude & Longitude values and the computer time, as these are crucial settings due to the significant effects of parallax for these close approaches.

Still, the recalcitrant NEO stubbornly refused to make an appearance, so I quickly ran upstairs and checked the desktop PC and it agreed with the notebook located outdoors, at the telescope. So, I decided to keep recording and sure enough, 2010 WC9 entered from stage left (orientation of Canon 7D). I was thrilled to have picked it up, at mag 12.3 to 12.1 as the night progressed. It was some 5 minutes late…;)

Confident that I could now locate the NEO, I slewed the ‘scope to M10 and began the preparations to record the slowly moving red dot as it approached the globular cluster. It took 11 frames at 60 secs exposure to traverse the field of view, with a 5 second pause between each frame to prevent camera shake caused by the shutter opening.

The “wobbly” appearance of the trail is because of periodic errors in the telescope mount’s gear train, as I was imaging at a relatively long focal length of 1932mm. This appearance is not caused by the asteroid tumbling!

Equipment details:
Tak Mewlon 210 F11.5
Tak x0.8 Reducer
Canon 7D Mk II DSLR
EFL 1932mm

Image details:
UT:
2018-05-15
13:42 – 13:54

Date: 15/05/2018 AEST
23:42 to 23:54 PM AEST

Magnitude: 12.16
RA Rate (arcsecs/sec): 0.153442
Dec Rate (arcsecs/sec): -2.725702
Constellation: Ophiuchus

The FOV of the original frames was approx. 40x27 arcmins, with an image scale of 0.44 arcsec/pixel

60 sec exposures
11 Frames
5 sec pauses between frames.

Processing:
I opened the 11 Frames as Layers in Photoshop CC and performed an “Edit-Align Layers” function to align all the frames. I then set the “Blending Mode” to “Lighten” so the 11 dashes of WC9 magically appeared at the top frame in the Stack.

Back in the 1780’s, as he was compiling his famous Messier Catalogue, I wonder what Charles Messier would have thought about the capability of today’s amateur astronomical equipment and techniques? Over the course of his career, Messier discovered forty nebulae and 13 comets.

I have also attached a higher res shot of the core of M10 where I was able to stack some extra frames. The sinuous trail of the NEO dimmed due to the glare from the GC.

Cheers

Dennis

[gregbradley]

You're a legend, well done.

Greg.

[theodog]

Missed this one and nearly missed the post.

Great capture again Dennis -still chasing the faint ones I see.:thumbsup:

[Dennis]

Thanks Greg and Jeff, I appreciate your comments.:)

Cheers

Dennis