November Asteroid

[hachidori]

Hi, Can anyone tell me if the asteroid 2005 YU55 pass on Nov 8th will be visible with the naked eye, or observable with bins/telescope??

Thanks!

[g8ina]

Google is one's best friend.


Near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 will pass within 0.85 lunar distances from the Earth on November 8, 2011. The upcoming close approach by this relatively large 400 meter-sized, C-type asteroid presents an excellent opportunity for synergistic ground-based observations including optical, near infrared and radar data. The attached animated illustration shows the Earth and moon flyby geometry for November 8th and 9th when the object will reach a visual brightness of 11th magnitude and should be easily visible to observers in the northern and southern hemispheres. The closest approach to Earth and the Moon will be respectively 0.00217 AU and 0.00160 AU on 2011 November 8 at 23:28 and November 9 at 07:13 UT.

[nytecam]

Thanks - full article @ Asteroid 2005 YU55 to Approach Earth on November 8, 2011 - so it's out with the cameras then -weather permitting

[g8ina]

Mag 11 ?

I wont be worrying too much on that one

[nytecam]

Originally Posted by g8ina

Mag 11 ? I wont be worrying too much on that one

Shame - mag 11 should be easy for my scope if I can snap mag 13 supernova in M51 [x6 fainter!] in 1sec exp - weather's the biggest negative factor