Saturday, February 16, 2013

Images & Animations of 2012 DA14 Close Approach

Asteroid 2012 DA14 had a close approach with Earth at 1925 UT on 2013 Feb. 15. at about 0.09 LD (Lunar Distances = ~384,000 kilometers) or 0.0002 AU (1 AU = ~150 million kilometers). For more info about this asteroid and its close approach see our previous post.

Below you can find a selection (in chronological order) of our images & animations taken before, during and after the close approach.

Image of 2012 DA14 taken remotely from Australia on February 15, 2013 at 17:40UT. Exposure time 5 seconds with a 0.50-m f/6.8 astrograph + CCD + f/4.5 focal reducer from Q62 (iTelescope Observatory, Siding Spring). The asteroid was then of magnitude ~9.5 and  moving at ~1140 "/min and less than 2 hours before its close approach of 19:25UT. Click on the image for a bigger version.


Below you can see a short animation made by using 3x5-second exposures. Click on the thumbnail for a bigger version.



Image taken remotely from Australia on February 15, 2013 at 18:45UT, just 40 minutes before the close approach. Exposure time 60 seconds with a 0.1m f/5.0 Astrograph + CCD from Q62 (iTelescope Observatory, Siding Spring). The asteroid was then of magnitude ~7.6 and  moving at ~2665 "/min.

Credit: E. Guido & N. Howes

Image taken from Remanzacco Observatory in Italy (mpc code 473) on February 15, 2013 at 20:54UT. Exposure time 20 seconds. The asteroid was then of magnitude ~8.2 and  moving at ~1513 "/min. Observers  L. Donato; D. Lasaponara; G. Pasqualin; V. Santini; M. Travagini.

Credit: L. Donato; D. Lasaponara; G. Pasqualin; V. Santini; M. Travagini

Image taken remotely from Spain on February 15, 2013 at 22:31UT, 3 hours after the close approach. Exposure time 60 seconds with a 0.15-m f/7.3 refractor + CCD from I89 (iTelescope Observatory, Nerpio, Spain). The asteroid was then of magnitude ~9.9 and  moving at ~525 "/min.  Click on the image for a bigger version.


Credit: E. Guido & N. Howes

Below you can see a short animation made by using 2x60-second exposures. Click on the thumbnail for a bigger version.



Image taken remotely from New Mexico on February 16, 2013 at 11:47UT, roughly 16 hours after the close approach. Exposure time 10 seconds with a 0.50-m f/6.8 astrograph + CCD + f/4.5 focal reducer from H06 (iTelescope Observatory, New Mexico). The asteroid was then of magnitude ~9.9 and  moving at ~525 "/min. Click on the image for a bigger version.

Credit: E. Guido & N. Howes

Below you can see a short animation made by using 14x10-second exposures. Click on the thumbnail for a bigger version.



Ernesto Guido & Nick Howes

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