2017-11-28, 04:29 PM
(2017-11-28, 04:48 AM)Dennis Wrote:(2017-11-19, 10:21 PM)Joe Stieber Wrote: On the Minor Planet Mailing List today (19-Nov-2017), Alan Hale, of Comet Hale-Bopp fame, posted this alert...
Quote:Just to remind everyone, Phaethon passes 0.069 AU from Earth on December 16 [2017] — the closest it has approached Earth since its discovery in 1983, and it won’t make a closer approach until 2093. Right now it’s moving rather slowly – barely over 10 arcminutes per day — since it’s coming almost right at us; when closest to Earth it will be traveling at 15 degrees per day and should be as bright as 10th magnitude.
Will this be close enough to require special elements in ST3? Since 0.069 au is about 6.4 million miles (10.3 million km), I'm guessing it won't, but I'm not the expert on this.
BTW, 15 degrees per day is about 37.5 arc seconds per minute of time, or roughly a Jupiter diameter per minute. I then checked it in ST3, and for December 16 at 6:45 pm EST (when it transits for my location), the total motion is given as 38.6"/min.
(2017-11-19, 10:43 PM)theskyhound Wrote: I'll keep an eye on it. At the very least I will put it up on the Current Minor Planets list with fresh element.
@Joe - thanks for the heads up.
@Greg - yes please! Add this NEO to the CMP list!
Already added! I went ahead and included multiple sets of orbital elements from JPL just in case. So it should be quite accurate throughout the pass.
Clear skies,
Greg
Head Dude at Skyhound
Greg
Head Dude at Skyhound