Apophis - the 'killer' asteroid!

 I struggle to keep up with all the current events in Astronomy, from Near Earth Objects (NEO) or new satellite launches or space missions.  This Potentially Hazardarous Asteroid nearly slipped past me but my daily scan of Space and Telescope found this article - https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/apophis-pays-a-visit-this-week/  What really jumped out to me was this line, "Six months after its discovery in June 2004, dynamicists calculated that it had a scary 1-in-20 chance of striking Earth in 2029." 

Having my own MPC code and observed upwards of 40+ asteroids, NEO's, and comets (https://astromaphilli14.blogspot.com/p/all-michael-phillips-observed-asteroids.html needs updating!) over the years, I knew I could hit this target.  Espeically since it was closest merely a couple days before.  I had been working on my exposures and speed rankings and this was well slower at 3"/min compared to a few failures of recent so I felt confident!

Here's 1 of 2 nights where my son helped me setup!

Night 2 of 2 was a solo effort, but easy to repeat the routine I've been working on.

And the close up animation!

2019 Solar System Bests

2019 was one of the more challenging years as all the major planets are quite low altitude for norther hemisphere observers.  The reason that altitude plays a roll is because of the amount of air you must look or image through is greatly increased as you move closer to the horizon.

Regardless I was able to get most of the major planets!



Full resolution
https://i.imgur.com/274fRuV.png

Full resolution with labels
https://i.imgur.com/9gWe609.png


Come see all my previous editions from the past 11 years here - https://maphilli14.webs.com/annual-solar-system-bests

A pair of highlights are in the top left and center which include; Transit of Mercury across the Sun and a Super Blood Wolf Lunar Eclipse!

Mercury transit was shot from Disney, hand held DSLR and hand held solar filter on the 200mm lens!

 

Additionally, I was gifted Reddit Gold for my Venus post! - https://www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/ees6mj/venus_in_false_color/



I was able to get both the icy gas giants but not great quality.  I was able to target a comet, 38P/Stephan Oterma on 2019.01.26, simply by happenstance and it made a stellar occultation as well!   

For those extra curious sorts, here's additional details on why altitude matters so much.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_mass_(astronomy)











In essence,overhead you have a single airmass and as you move towards the horizon it gets increasingly thick amounts of air.

There's a good chart on this page here that also gets into the math (http://www.ftexploring.com/solar-energy/air-mass-and-insolation2.htm).  Essentially at around 30° alt you are looking through 2 air masses and down on the horizon the approximation is made that it's up to a total of 38 air masses.  This coincidentally is why the sun and moon rise/sets are so big and rich due to scattering and increased amounts of atmosphere!

Thanks for reading and look forward to my other post about a full Jovian season which will also highlight these effects!

- Mike