2024 MK

[Dennis]

Thanks for the nudge BMD, I’m back after a bit of a break due to pursuing other hobbies and some pesky unfavourable weather patterns.

On the evening of 28th June 2024 from our back garden in Brisbane, I managed to grab 44 frames of 2024 MK as it sped across our Southern skies. There are a couple of gaps in the trail due to intermittent cloud cover.

I took 44x60 sec exposures (sidereal rate) from 7:09pm to 8:01pm AEST (UT+10).
UTC: 2024-06-28T09:09:00Z to UTC: 2024-06-28T10:01:00Z.

When I processed the frames in Pixinsight and took the result into Photoshop for finishing, I noticed that the trail appeared slightly curved.
Using the Photoshop “Line Tool” I drew a straight line along the trail and sure enough, this reveals a gentle curve to the recorded path of 2024 MK.

A plate solve for the frame recorded at 7:34pm AEST provided the following details.
Center RA (2000.0): 14h 34m 52.33s
Center Dec (2000.0): -47° 40' 38.1"
Scale: 0.6520 arcseconds/pixel
Size (pixels): 3124 x 2088
Angular Size: 0° 33' 57" x 0° 22' 41"
Position Angle: 179° 46' from north through east
FWHM: 3.72 pixels, 2.43 arcseconds

   

   

Later, from 8:04pm to 8:09pm AEST (UTC: 2024-06-28T10:04:00Z to UTC: 2024-06-28T10:09:00Z) I was able to grab 6 frames with the mount locked on NEO 2024 MK and you can see the “stepping” of the star trails when the frames were combined.

   

   

Celestron C9.25 Edge HD at F10, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera.

Dennis.

[theskyhound]

Very cool!

[Dennis]

Thanks Greg, out of the 10 or 12 NEO’s that I have managed to record as trails, 2024 MK was the first (and only) one to display a curved orbital track in the composite image.

And, as fate would have it, we were clouded out of Saturday night for the closest approach.

Oh well, such is life.

Dennis

[PMSchu]

Hi Dennis,

Your images are really great! You had one of the best seats in the house (except for your typically rotten weather, unfortunately). I'm glad that you were able to spot this NEO. It won't get this close again for quite a while. According to SkyTools, (415029) UL21 is still visible in Serpens Caput, near the celestial equator.

Phil S.