Author: Gary Hug

Dr. Twarog from Kansas University brought out a group of SEDS members. They stayed til 3:00 AM after arriving the about 9:00 PM the night before (2nd of February). SEDS stands for Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.
– Gary

I swept up 2013 AS27 while performing NEOCP follow-up. The object I was looking up was listed as UABF97F on the NEOCP. Off the NE side of the images was a fast moving 18th magnitude unknown. I immediately turned in the object as lb4020 (my temporarily assigned designation) to the MPC. Within minutes it was posted on the NEOCP and after a few hours Bob Holmes of ARI (H21) provided the first of many confirmation observations posted from around the world. This makes the second Apollo Near-Earth Asteroid discovered at Sandlot Observatory in 4 months. 2012 SY49 discovered last September was a VI but was only about 20 meters or so in diameter. 2013 AS27 is a PHA coming as close as .034 A.U.s but is ~.25 KM in diameter.  

Here’s a website to check out a Planetary Society ‘Hangout’  webcast.

Here’s an image from this morning (10-15-12) of Comet ISON at just over 6 A.U.s distant. It registered 17.4 R. magnitude.
(18 min blue and green and 16 min red.)

This is the comet that MIGHT reach naked-eye brightness about this time next year. While it has the potential to be a spectacular comet (on the order of another Hale-Bopp) It is very far away and predictions of its brightness can be in error by many magnitudes… Still it has good possibilities..

These were the discovery images of 2012 SY49 taken 9-23-12 at my backyard observatory Sandlot. I originally designated this object as lb3720. I sent the data to the MPC and they put the object on the NEO Confirmation Page. After 2 nights of followup by a few observatories in New Mexico, Arizona, and Indiana, the MPC put out an electronic circular announcing 2012 SY49 as a NEO.

Soon after NASA’s Sentry (JPL) proclaimed it to be a Virtual Impactor. 2012 SY49 can come as close as 20,000 miles above the earth’s surface. This pass it will be a comfortable 2-3 lunar distances. The object is estimated to b only about 25-30 meters in diameter but at 36,000 per hour if it did impact it would carry a 8 megaton wallop.

Gary

Venus Transit. Jun 5th, 2012 at Lake Shawnee.

Here’s a very quick image of today’s sun. I took it using the 80 mm f/6.25 Apogee refractor and a Cannon EOS rebel XS.

OK,  It’s no longer just today’s image but a few images taken over several weeks showing the changing face of the sun..
Gary

Here’s an image of a recent supernova in the constellation Leo. M95’s ‘new’ star was spotted March 16th by Paolo Fagotti of Italy. I’ve marked its position in the image I took Mar 22. I estimated the magnitude at 13.2 R.

Check out the reason I’ve had problems at Sandlot Observatory with electronic equipment.
See:


cheers,
Gary