Dave Mitsky
2007-Mar-31, 06:10 PM
My friend and observing partner Tony Donnangelo and I had success in observing the rapidly moving NEO 2006 VV2 from his backyard last night from 0:30 to 2:50 UT (8:30 to 10:50 p.m. EDT). We employed his 14.5" f/4.3 Starmaster Sky Tracker Dob and detailed finder charts prepared using Starry Night Pro.
This was the third NEO that I've observed telescopically. I've always particularly enjoyed being able to see a celestial object move in real time. Viewing the asteroid at 202x (9mm Nagler Type 6) allowed easy detection of its motion, particularly when it passed nearby a field star.
Asteroid 2006 VV2 was located in Leo Minor at 0:00 UT and was brighter than predicted. We both estimated it to be easily ninth magnitude. As it headed towards Leo, the asteroid narrowly missed occulting a tenth magnitude star at approximately 2:44 UT.
When we returned to the telescope after a warm-up and hot cocoa break the transparency had deteriorated considerably and we could no longer locate 2006 VV2. We observed Saturn for a bit using a variety of eyepieces yielding magnifications ranging from 202x to 455x and then called it quits for the night.
Dave Mitsky
This was the third NEO that I've observed telescopically. I've always particularly enjoyed being able to see a celestial object move in real time. Viewing the asteroid at 202x (9mm Nagler Type 6) allowed easy detection of its motion, particularly when it passed nearby a field star.
Asteroid 2006 VV2 was located in Leo Minor at 0:00 UT and was brighter than predicted. We both estimated it to be easily ninth magnitude. As it headed towards Leo, the asteroid narrowly missed occulting a tenth magnitude star at approximately 2:44 UT.
When we returned to the telescope after a warm-up and hot cocoa break the transparency had deteriorated considerably and we could no longer locate 2006 VV2. We observed Saturn for a bit using a variety of eyepieces yielding magnifications ranging from 202x to 455x and then called it quits for the night.
Dave Mitsky