Astronomy

Vesta!

Posted 2007 May 22 @ 11:14 - filed under Astronomy news.

As you read this, asteroid Vesta is growing brighter. It is already a naked-eye target from dark skies and will reach magnitude +5.4 around the end of May.

Where to look

During late May and early June, Vesta lies about 10° north-west of Jupiter (closest approach: Aug 30), in Ophiuchus, and from June 10th in Scorpius. It remains north of Scorpius until year's end, when it is an 8th magnitude object in Capricorn in the evening sky.

May 12 – May 19

Joe Perulero of New South Wales, Australia, has kindly shared the photo below (a mosaic of two separate images taken a week apart) showing 6th magnitude Vesta amongst the stars of Ophiuchus.

A mosaic of two images showing Vesta on May 12 and May 19. Both images were taken with a Canon 350D (10 minutes at ISO 400) on an Orion ED80 with a Meade f/6.3 focal reducer, guided by an SBIG ST4 Autoguider. North is at the top and east to the left in this image, which is 1.8° wide.

Best times to see Vesta

As summarised in the May Southern Sky Almanack, the best times to see Vesta will be when the Moon won't be a problem. Try on these dates (times in SAST):

May 22, 23h – May 23, 05h
May 24, 00h – May 24, 05h
May 25, 01h – May 25, 05h
May 26, 02h – May 26, 05h
May 27, 03h – May 27, 05h
May 28, 04h – May 28, 05h (mag = 5.4)
June 04, 19h – 20h (mag = 5.5)
June 05, 19h – 21h
June 06, 19h – 22h
June 07, 19h – 23h
June 08, 19h – June 09, 00h (mag = 5.6)
June 09, 19h – June 10, 01h
June 10, 19h – June 11, 02h

On May 29 it lies at (RA 16h 34.3m, Dec -14°01); on June 04 at (RA 16h 27.6m, Dec. -14°11) and on June 11 it is at (RA 16h 21.5.m, Dec. -14°25).

Vestrivia

The German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers discovered Vesta on 29 March 1807.

Keywords: Astronomy news, Vesta, bright asteroid, minor planet, naked eye visibility