Asteroid 2006 VV2 Successfully Observed, 2007/3/31 UT

[Dave Mitsky]

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

[AutoClub]

Hi Dave - congrats to both you and your friend Tony getting a visual on Asteroid 2006 VV2! Aperture rules! I guess it would be pretty close to impossible to get a visual on this tonight with just a 5" refractor, especially with an almost full Moon fairly close.

I had originally hoped to at least see this visually, but I really wanted to image it either through the 5" refractor or an 80 mm APO, using a Canon 20D unmodded in prime focus. I would like to be able to capture a series of images approximately 5-10 minutes apart, and then make an animation of the flyby and post the results here.

Wish me luck!

Clear skies!

Paul