NEA 1998 TU3, 5 Oct 2010

[Rob_K]

A 5.2km diameter lump of rock, currently situated about 0.193 A.U. from Earth - not considered a potentially hazardous asteroid.

It is well situated for southern observers and is a relatively easy one to image with basic gear - it's bright (mag 12.6, heading to mag 12.4 in mid-month), with slow sky motion allowing longer exposures. That's not to say I've done it particularly well, LOL! :P

The following composite tracks its motion over 25 minutes - 80 sec exposures were used, piggybacked Canon 400D at 200mm, hand-guided through reticle on unmotorised EQ1 mount.

http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww271/Rob_Kau/1998TU35Oct2010text.jpg

Cheers -

[beren]

Very nice work Rob and well presented :thumbsup: been meaning to do something similar, interesting area

[Rob_K]

Thanks Beren - the window remains open on this one for a few weeks yet.

Cheers -

[asimov]

Nice imaging mate! :thumbsup:

[theodog]

I was OS (in Tassy) when this was posted.
Nice one. Especially with the method used to catch it.
Well done.

[Rob_K]

Thanks Asi, Jeff! Yeah, not too many of the sacred photons there, LOL, but enough for me!

Cheers -