Hi All,

There will be a close approach of asteroid 2010 XJ11 on 2021 Jun 29-30. It's predicted to reach mag 16.5 and be moving at ~100"/minute on the night of the 30th around midnight.

Good luck,

Phil S.

Hi All,

Minor planet 2021 ME1 has a close approach on 26-27 June 2021 visible from latitude ~30°N and points south. 

It's moving ~50"/minute.

Good luck,

Phil S.

Hi All,

Just received notice that iTelescope has opened a new scope in Chile. The name is T70 at Deep Sky Chile.

Phil S.

What determines star common names? For example, I have been trying to get Polaris Australis labelled with its common name, to no avail. So, I guess its not rated that highly

Thanks
Bob

Can you create filters for the Optolong LRGB, and narrow band so they can be imported into Imaging?

I didn't run across this rock on the CNEOS page nor at Spaceweather. It was found using the DBPS in ST4. It looks to have a nice close approach in the very early hours of June 15th high in the west with no moon. Maybe 14th magnitude, moving ~20"/min. Although the rock will be moving away, it should appear to get somewhat brighter as the phase angle improves over the next several days. Another chance to detect it comes the next morning (16th) ~6,7 & 8 UT high in the southern sky, still moving relatively quickly. Again, no moon. And again, the next morning (17th) 7, 8 & 9 UT high in the southern sky. No moon. Still good phase angle and maybe magnitudes in the 12s. Because of the geometry this rock exhibits, there are still a couple of hours in the predawn skies on the 18th & 19th with elongation and phase angle still decent but getting slower, lower, and fainter as it sweeps the southern skies. The rock comes over the top and moves outside our orbit for good viewing from the northern hemisphere.

Hello
 
On some recent images I took of PN ESO 216-2, the field star GSC 08225-985 is recorded more like a faint fuzzy DSO rather than having a stellar profile like the other field stars. I was actually taking images of Planetary Nebula PN G288.7+08.1 (ESO 216-2) at R.A. 11h18m09.7s Dec. -52°10'02" (2000) in Centaurus, Magnitude: 15.50, Size: 36" when I noticed that the field star (GSC 08225-985) looked distinctly fuzzy and unlike the other nicely resolved field stars. It appears more like the faint PGC Galaxies I often see in my images.
 
The “fuzzy” field star is identified as:
SkyTools 4 Imaging Data
J111827.8-520821
R.A. 11h18m27.9s Dec. -52°08'21" (2000)
Centaurus
Magnitude: 13.22
 
 
I have checked the Sesame Name Resolver on-line Query and it returned:
J111827.8-520821           11:18:27.8  -52:08:21
 
I also checked Aladin Lite and on that image the object appears in the Gaia EDR3 and 2MASS databases.
 
I have attached 5 files showing this “fuzzy” object, from the basic Raw File to Files with Labels and IDs from the SkyTools 4 Imaging Application.
 
I took a similar series of images on 6th June with a different camera (ZWO ASI 1600 MM Pro) and with the telescope tube rotated in a different position (approx. 45 degrees) and the same “fuzzy” object appears in that image too, so it is unlikely to be camera related or some reflection artefact?
 
The imaging system is:
Takahashi Mewlon 210 F11.5 (210mm aperture)
Takahashi x0.8 Reducer
F9.4 at 1932mm focal length
ZWO AIS 294 MM Pro Cooled Camera
106 x 30 sec exposures
10th June 2021
Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
 
Cheers
 
Dennis Simmons

Attached Files

Thumbnail(s)
                   

2021 LO2 will swing by my yard during the AM hours of 13 June approaching 1/2 lunar distance. The geometry is somewhat poor from my location in SE Texas and it might be at the limit of both my 13" and 24" from my Bortle 4 skies (magnitude 14-15) when up in dark skies (Moon below horizon). Plus, for me, when brightest and fastest (7.8 arc min/minute), it will be daylight and below the horizon. Use ST4 to check for your location. Best time for me would be 6 UT.

The most successful questions explain what you want to accomplish in general. People often make assumptions in their questions and ask for a new feature or report that a feature doesn't do what they need it to do. It is far better to describe what you are trying to accomplish. Often the solution is there in the software, just not in the way you might imagine.

Example question:

Hello,

I have a long observing list that I want to make shorter because it is taking too long to calculate on the Nightly Planner or Real Time tool. How do I make it shorter?

Answer:

You can create a new list that includes only those objects that you can detect in your telescope. To do that, open the Nightly Planner. Turn off all of the filters. Sort the list by "Best Difficulty" with obvious at the top. Then click in the multiple selection (red check mark) column next to the top object. Scroll down to the last detectable object, hold the shift key, and click in the column next to that object. When you do that, red check marks should be set for all of the objects that are detectable.

Right-click on any red check mark and select "Copy Checked to..." and when the dialog appears, create a new list and complete the copy operation. This will create a list with just the objects that are detectable for your telescope.

You can also apply filters and follow a similar procedure to further narrow down the list, or to create a list meant for a specific night.

Greg it looks to me like the June current data is being loaded into ST3 but it is still being shown as the May data in the notes for the lists.