Having enjoyed some success in imaging Nereid (moon of Neptune) and Pluto, I decided to venture deeper into our solar system, beyond the dark reaches of Pluto, to capture Eris (Minor Planet 136199), lying at some 2.4 x the mean Pluto-Sun distance. Current estimates for the diameter of Eris are in the range 3100 - 9900 km with an orbital period of 560.2 years.
Eris currently lies in the constellation of Cetus, shining at a dim magnitude of 18.74 some 8.93 billion miles (14.37 billion kilometres) from the Earth. When first discovered Eris was labelled as 2003 UB 313 and classified as a Minor Planet but with the demotion of Pluto, it is now a Dwarf Planet! The discovery of Eris was announced on January 5, 2005 based upon images taken on October 21, 2003.
SkyTools 3 Pro gives the following (sub-set) details about Eris:
R.A.: 01h41m05.2s Dec.: -04°22'04" (2000) in Cetus.
Apparent RA: 01h41m35.7s, Apparent Dec: -04°18'58"
Magnitude: 18.74
Orbit Period: 560.2 years
Perihelion Distance: 38.4 AU
Aphelion Distance: 97.5 AU
Current Status:
Earth Distance: 96.1 AU
Sun Distance: 96.7 AU
Total motion: 21.0 "/day
RA: -17.15 "/day
Dec: -12.16 "/day
PS – the reason that Eris is off-centre is that my ST7 is the older parallel model with the TC211 guide chip (192x164 pixels) and sometimes finding a bright enough guide star doesn’t allow for centering the main object on the (765x510 pixel) imaging chip.
Brisbane may not be the best place for high mag planetary imaging but it sure doesn't seem to hinder your imaging efforts of the minor planets and Kuiper Belt objects.
When I saw your image of Nereid, I was in awe....this one though pips that one. Very Awesome, also taking into account you took these images from Brisbane
Not in any way to diminish the awe of this capture, ..but isn't it amazing just how much we relish it because of the attendant information of what the subject actually is...
without that information, and annotation, the lil anonymous dot would be of no more interest than all the other nameless dots...
it's all in the mind really, isn't it.. and what focus of mind to catch that evasive lil dot!!
Thank you Kev, Carl, David, Trevor, HW, Mick & Lester, for your words of appreciation – I’m pleased that the image was of interest, as I found it quite an enthralling and enjoyable project.
Carl - The write up on Wiki concerning the controversy over the final name of Eris was quite illuminating!
Omni - Hmm, not to sure what I can say here, other than maybe beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
fantastic result hunting that one down Dennis. I missed you at astrofest!!!
Thanks Dave!
I missed you too, as well as all the folks, excitement, mingling, equipment, talks and general fun, but sadly, my brother-in-law became gravely ill during the run up to astrofest, although I am pleased to report that he has now pulled through the worst of it.
you never cease to amaze with your skill and dedication
Thanks Ron – I’ve been a little lazy really; it’s only taken me 2 years to optimise my mount for long exposure auto guiding!!!
