NEO 2023 LD, Magnitude: 16.86, 9th June 2023

[Dennis]

I enjoyed a bit of a “play” session last night, (9th June 2023), fitting the Celestron x0.7 Reducer to my C9.25 F/10 Edge HD SCT which transforms the OTA into an F/7 1,645mm optic.
 
The main task was to obtain the correct back focus and orient the camera, so the OTA was balanced, and generally become familiar with the new set up.
 
NEO 2023 LD looked like a suitable test target, although it would take a few hours to rise above the tree line in that part of my obstructed skies.
 
All the equipment behaved and the skies remained clear, so here is a 60 sec exposure, tracking on the NEO.
 
Cheers
 
Dennis

   

[PMSchu]

Hi Dennis,

Excellent capture. ST4v predicted that the peak brightness would reach 16.4 magnitude in Serpens on 2023 Jun 9 0000 EDT (Jun 10 0400 UT) with Minimum Re of 951.2k km on 2023 Jun 8 2100 EDT (Jun 9 0100 UT) still 16.4 magnitude in Serpens.

I'm glad that you caught it.

Phil S.

[Dennis]

Hi Phil

I may have set my time incorrectly in ST4 Imaging, as when I reviewed the date/time of the 60 sec exposure and then set ST4 correctly to that time for the NEO 2023 LD, it showed the mag at 16.93.

Cheers

Dennis

[PMSchu]

Hi Dennis,

16.86 ≈ 16.93 so it would be hard to tell the difference.

Phil S.