Sunday, March 21, 2021

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!



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