Dust off your Binoculars and plan to watch Asteroid Juno 9/21/09

Asteroid Juno set to brighten your night September 21st 2009
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d085cb1fdb68.jpg[/atsimg]

Thats right friends this is going to be the best chance to catch that beautiful sparkling diamond in the night, and hopefully if you have a clear night it will be something worth sharing with your children ,friends and loved ones as it promises to be a memory maker.

This is going to be fun watching as people film the spectacular UFO! UTube is going to be busy, lol!

Anyway I know I plan to enjoy this with my children and hope you also take time to enjoy this special event.

Toward the end of September, the sun will turn a spotlight on the asteroid Juno, giving that bulky lump of rock a rare featured cameo in the night sky. Those who get out to a dark, unpolluted sky will be able to spot the asteroid's silvery glint near the planet Uranus with a pair of binoculars.

"It can usually be seen by a good amateur telescope, but the guy on the street doesn't usually get a chance to observe it," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near Earth Object Program Office at JPL. "This is going to be as bright as it gets until 2018."

Juno, one of the first asteroids discovered, is thought to be the parent of many of the meteorites that rain on Earth. The asteroid is composed mostly of hardy silicate rock, which is tough enough that fragments broken off by collisions can often survive a trip through Earth's atmosphere.

Though pockmarked by bang-ups with other asteroids, Juno is large; in fact, it is the tenth largest asteroid. It measures about 234 kilometers (145 miles) in diameter, or about one-fifteenth the diameter of the moon.

The asteroid, which orbits the sun on a track between Mars and Jupiter, will be at its brightest on Sept. 21, when it is zooming around the sun at about 22 kilometers per second (49,000 miles per hour). At that time, its apparent magnitude will be 7.6, which is about two-and- a-half times brighter than normal. The extra brightness will come from its position in a direct line with the sun and its proximity to Earth. (The asteroid will still be about 180 million kilometers [112 million miles] away, so there is no danger it will fall towards Earth.)

Skywatchers with telescopes can probably see Juno from now until the end of the year, but it is most visible to binoculars in late September. On or before Sept. 21, look for Juno near midnight a few degrees east of the brighter glow of Uranus and in the constellation Pisces. It will look like a gray dot in the sky, and each night at the end of September, it will appear slightly more southwest of its location the night before. By Sept. 25, it will be closer to the constellation Aquarius and best seen before midnight.

For more information go to:
neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

Just wanted to shamelessly bump my own thread up so that anyone interested does not miss this opportunity!

So far in the Mid West where we are it is going to be a perfect night for observing, I will get more details out to you asap.

Thanks for the info Friend I do enjoy looking up @ all our home and its celestial bodies that roam and guard it. Looks like a nice 1.

sadly i will miss this i believe, at least the view my girlfriend and family will get from utah and arizona. i will be in thailand until the 23rd. any idea what time they should keep a look out for it? im sure they would all love to see it so im curious what time to tell them to wait for it. thanks for the info

Originally posted by antar
Just wanted to shamelessly bump my own thread up so that anyone interested does not miss this opportunity!

So far in the Mid West where we are it is going to be a perfect night for observing, I will get more details out to you asap.

I like it when you shamelessly bump things. I'm dusting off my Bino's now! Kewl Beans!

Cheers,

Erik

edited to add: How did you know I was a sap?!

[edit on 22/SeppmThu, 17 Sep 2009 14:26:17 -0500/08 by redwoodjedi]

Ok since the link in the Op does not lead you to the article here is what JPL has to say about JUNO!

(I cant wait, but it may just be visible now anyway!) Perhaps some of those ufo reports are really JUno playing tricks on the wishful thinking!

Feature


September 16, 2009




Asteroid Juno Grabs the Spotlight



Toward the end of September, the sun will turn a spotlight on the asteroid Juno, giving that bulky lump of rock a rare featured cameo in the night sky. Those who get out to a dark, unpolluted sky will be able to spot the asteroid's silvery glint near the planet Uranus with a pair of binoculars.

"It can usually be seen by a good amateur telescope, but the guy on the street doesn't usually get a chance to observe it," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near Earth Object Program Office at JPL. "This is going to be as bright as it gets until 2018."

Juno, one of the first asteroids discovered, is thought to be the parent of many of the meteorites that rain on Earth. The asteroid is composed mostly of hardy silicate rock, which is tough enough that fragments broken off by collisions can often survive a trip through Earth's atmosphere.

Though pockmarked by bang-ups with other asteroids, Juno is large; in fact, it is the tenth largest asteroid. It measures about 234 kilometers (145 miles) in diameter, or about one-fifteenth the diameter of the moon.

The asteroid, which orbits the sun on a track between Mars and Jupiter, will be at its brightest on Sept. 21, when it is zooming around the sun at about 22 kilometers per second (49,000 miles per hour). At that time, its apparent magnitude will be 7.6, which is about two-and- a-half times brighter than normal. The extra brightness will come from its position in a direct line with the sun and its proximity to Earth. (The asteroid will still be about 180 million kilometers [112 million miles] away, so there is no danger it will fall towards Earth.)

Skywatchers with telescopes can probably see Juno from now until the end of the year, but it is most visible to binoculars in late September. On or before Sept. 21, look for Juno near midnight a few degrees east of the brighter glow of Uranus and in the constellation Pisces. It will look like a gray dot in the sky, and each night at the end of September, it will appear slightly more southwest of its location the night before. By Sept. 25, it will be closer to the constellation Aquarius and best seen before midnight.

neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

Thanks for the info, my Birthday is on the 21st. I will stay up to try and get a glimpse.
I have a question, I live in LA is it posible to notice Juno out here..without equipment?

Thanks for the heads up, my brother and I drove out of the city to catch the space station those two nights it was visable with binoculars. We pulled out the telescope, I just wish we didn't have all the pollution in the air.

I look forward to this! I have a nice set of stargazing binos (with stand) and a couple of scopes that need to see much more use. I'm out of practice stargazing, have not had much free time this year. Fall is here, I need to get back on the horse!

This might seem to skew from the subject, but in Greek mythology Juno has been considered as 'The one who warns' , 'guards the finances of the empire'.

The day for the sighting of this asteroid is a day before 22/9

Festivals for Juno occur on Sept 13 - 9 days before

I would also like to reference the same closing DOW which occured on 9/11 this year as on 9/11 of 2001

[edit on 17-9-2009 by JRSB]

reply to post by Magus of Truth


Happy Birthday to you! What a great present. If I lived in the LA area I would probably try and visit one of the observatories for the best view. If you do take your camera and bring us some really good shots of it!

Originally posted by JRSB
This might seem to skew from the subject, but in Greek mythology Juno has been considered as 'The one who warns' , 'guards the finances of the empire'.

The day for the sighting of this asteroid is a day before 22/9

Festivals for Juno occur on Sept 13 - 9 days before

I would also like to reference the same closing DOW which occured on 9/11 this year as on 9/11 of 2001

[edit on 17-9-2009 by JRSB]

WHOA!!! Thats pretty incredible information! I love ATS for just this reason, I come on to tell about a celestial event and others with so much more knowledge share insights I am just thrilled to discover.

Thank you I will have to absorb your post, it is pretty intense information my friend...

reply to post by IgnoreTheFacts


You are just the person I am looking for, sounds like you have yourself together, please get some pictures to share with us ok?

Just a gentle reminder for any of you weekenders as to this event coming up on Tuesday. Be sure and get some pictures to share with us here if you are able!

At mag 7.6 you'd be hard-pressed to see it even with a amateur scope unless truly out in the country. It wont be a huge space-rock in your view looking through a Telescope, but rather just a dull point of light less bright than most of the stars around it.

to see any movement you'd be needing to track it for about 30 minutes and plot its position relative to objects nearby to get a idea of any movement.
Ive seen Comets at 7.6 with a big Coma and even these have been hard to spot at times, so a Asteroid you'd be hard-pressed to see unless your truly dedicated and lucky with the weather.

reply to post by antar


Thanks for the head's up! I'm surprised spaceweather.com didn't tell subscribers about this. Thanks to you, Antar, I'll be out tonight with camera/tripod to see if I can get a shot. I'll share my "smudge" with you if I manage to luck out.

Thanks for the heads up my friend.

Dusting off bins now.