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Bright Asteroid Visible Tonight

Posted by michael on from the step-away-from-the-computer dept.

Ender, Duke_of_URL writes: "NASA is reporting that 1998 WT24, a near Earth asteroid, will be easily visible (9th magnitude) to telescopes in Auriga and Perseus. This NEO will be passing within 5 lunar distances to Earth, so there's no danger of collision."

2 of 14 comments (clear)

  1. Whoops! by fm6 · · Score: 4, Informative
    This NEO will be passing within 5 lunar distances to Earth, so there's no danger of collision.
    Sloppy English is all part of the Slashdot experience, but in this case it just won't do. "Five lunar distances" is only 0.015 AUs. The NEO people at JPL consider a collision possible if the rock is predicted to pass within 0.05 AUs. Of course that possibility is still very very small, but it ain't zero.
  2. it came, i saw, it was neck breaking. + some links by vikrant · · Score: 2, Informative

    i caught it with 20x120 binocs .. i was observing from quite a light polluted place in new delhi on 16/12. it was very high in the sky and made the observation neck breaking!

    It was really some experience .. first hunting that quickly moving rock at the limit of binocs reach and then watch it move w.r.t stars .. and to know that before 2027, next such event (bright NEO) will only happen in 2004. :-)

    i have put my observation log and a plot of moving wt24 and stars here. the log shows some of excitement i went through. not anything of scientific value though.

    here are downloadable finder charts prepared using Guide 7.0 to make life a little easier.

    here is a MUST SEE mpeg video made by compiling the frames from a 2 hour CCD run on WT24 by Nick James

    here is great image showing 1 complete rotation of 1998 WT24