This is a high rank event, nominally. I do like that the asteroid has a name and so perhaps has a longer set of astrometry and firmer orbit to start with. I've become distrustful of the nominal rank of the small asteroid events. The duration is short, only 0.4s, but the star is "bright" at 12.4 magnitude and should be do-able at 2x or 4x at worst. At 4x then 0.4s would then be 4-5 consecutive points at ~0 level and easily detectable.
The target is in Sagittarius in a dense star field, and the gibbous moon is 19 degrees away, so the sky brightness will be a bit of a problem but probably not major. I've found good sites far enough on either side of the centerline to get good astrometry if we succeed. Kirk's on board. Skies are predicted to be clear. The altitude is 23 at Az=207 in the SSW. The target is 3 degrees to the right of the top of the Teapot lid of Sagittarius. The moon is lower and to the left by 19 degrees.
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Kirk carpooled with me out to Watsonville. I set him on the extension to Airline Blvd, south of Hwy 1. I set up on Lee Rd east of the Chevron station on the Hwy 129 offramp. We bracketed the centerline, wide enough to hopefully pinpoint the asteroid. Skies were clear, but damp, a bit hazy, and the target only 19 degrees from the moon made for a brighter sky than expected
I integrated at 4x. The target was visible, but just barely, against the bright twinkling sky. I lowered the sky brightness by moving Gamma from 0.5 to 0.7. There was a bit of on-shore breeze, but it seemed calm at the moment of the event. Not able to say on live view if there was an occultation. The reductions were just in too bright a sky to show a high enough S/N to say whether there was an occultation. Too tough, so close to the moon in a milky sky.
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Auroral glow in the northwest on my fisheye view. Not seen by eye, nor intentionally photo'd. Just took a scene shot and noticed later the auroral glow. Others in the SC area got better pictures. |
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This was the night of the Great California Aurora from the big blast CME from the sun. I was too focued on the asteroid event to have remembered to look. |
sky was bright, low elevation murk and moonglow and the target wasn't that easy to see as a short event. |
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A couple of "cloud events, one just after the supposed real event, but no detection of an occultation |
I tried guiding PyOTE to a D and R at the right time, but it was far too much noise to take seriously. No detection, but noise makes any decision of little confidence. No report filed. |
Also observed at 4x, near the end of the extension of Airline Blvd south, as a dirt road. Not able to say on live view if there was an occultation. The reductions were just in too bright a sky to show a high enough S/N to say whether there was an occultation. Too tough, so close to the moon in a milky sky.
