* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Asteroid 2014 RC

Blobrana · L

Following up on this preliminary result, A. Thirouin, B. Skiff, and N. Moskovitz (Lowell Observatory) analyzed the brightness variations of 2014 RC across multiple nights using Lowell Observatory' 1.1m Hall telescope, Lowell's 4.3m Discovery Channel Telescope and NASA's IRTF. A subset of these images have been combined into an movie which can be downloaded here:

http://www2.lowell.edu/users/nmosko/2014RC_flyby.gif

These data indicate a best fit rotation period of about 15.8 seconds, and a low light curve amplitude of ~0.1 magnitude. This is the fastest rotating asteroid observed to date, roughly 50% faster than the previous record holder.

Blobrana · L

Asteroid 2014RC

Spoiler

by Paul Stewart

Blobrana · L

Update

The 12 - 26 metre wide asteroid 2014 RC will make a close pass (0.1 lunar distances, 0.00027 AU), travelling at 10.95 km/second, to the Earth-Moon system on the 7th September 2014 @ 18:02 UT ±<00:01.

The Lunar Distance (LD), the distance between Earth and the Moon, equals 384,401 km, (or 0.00256 AU).

Blobrana · L

Small Asteroid to Safely Pass Close to Earth Sunday

A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to Earth on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. At the time of closest approach, based on current calculations to be about 2:18 p.m. EDT (11:18 a.m. PDT / 18:18 UTC), the asteroid will be roughly over New Zealand. From its reflected brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about 60 feet (20 meters) in size.
Read more

Blobrana · L

Near-Earth Asteroid 2014 RC extremely close encounter: live observation

Spoiler

Blobrana · L

Ephemeris

 Date__(UT)__HR:MN     R.A._(ICRF/J2000.0)_DEC  Mag
 2014-Sep-07 10:00     22 41 50.62 -21 50 30.3  14.19
 2014-Sep-07 11:00     22 45 10.29 -22 42 15.5  13.94
 2014-Sep-07 12:00     22 49 37.41 -23 50 06.3  13.64
 2014-Sep-07 13:00     22 55 53.26 -25 22 48.1  13.31
 2014-Sep-07 14:00     23 05 21.01 -27 36 36.1  12.93
 2014-Sep-07 15:00     23 21 16.03 -31 04 40.7  12.48
 2014-Sep-07 16:00     23 53 19.00 -37 00 59.8  11.97
 2014-Sep-07 17:00     01 22 56.82 -47 29 04.9  11.53
 2014-Sep-07 18:00     05 54 21.85 -45 49 37.4  12.30

Blobrana · L

Asteroid 2014 RC to safely fly past Earth

A small asteroid about the size of a house will fly past Earth on Sunday, US space agency Nasa says.
The asteroid, 2014 RC, will pass over New Zealand at around 18:18 GMT. It is about 18 m in size.
Read more

Blobrana · L

Update

The 12 - 26 metre wide asteroid 2014 RC will make a close pass (0.1 lunar distances, 0.00027 AU), travelling at 10.95 km/second, to the Earth-Moon system on the 7th September 2014 @ 18:01 UT ±00:01.

The Lunar Distance (LD), the distance between Earth and the Moon, equals 384,401 km, (or 0.00256 AU).

Blobrana · L

Ephemeris

 Date__(UT)__HR:MN     R.A._(ICRF/J2000.0)_DEC  Mag
 2014-Sep-04 00:00     22 20 51.14 -16 02 08.2  18.98
 2014-Sep-05 00:00     22 21 32.71 -16 15 27.4  18.33
 2014-Sep-06 00:00     22 23 05.88 -16 43 00.0  17.39
 2014-Sep-07 00:00     22 28 50.87 -18 20 12.8  15.62
 2014-Sep-07 01:00     22 29 26.16 -18 29 58.9  15.50
 2014-Sep-07 02:00     22 30 05.81 -18 40 55.3  15.38
 2014-Sep-07 03:00     22 30 50.65 -18 53 15.4  15.25
 2014-Sep-07 04:00     22 31 41.80 -19 07 16.4  15.11
 2014-Sep-07 05:00     22 32 40.67 -19 23 20.4  14.96
 2014-Sep-07 06:00     22 33 49.15 -19 41 56.4  14.80
 2014-Sep-07 07:00     22 35 09.79 -20 03 43.5  14.62
 2014-Sep-07 08:00     22 36 46.14 -20 29 35.1  14.43
 2014-Sep-07 09:00     22 38 43.30 -21 00 46.5  14.23
 2014-Sep-07 10:00     22 41 08.87 -21 39 07.8  14.00
 2014-Sep-07 11:00     22 44 14.69 -22 27 25.9  13.75
 2014-Sep-07 12:00     22 48 20.31 -23 30 06.1  13.47
 2014-Sep-07 13:00     22 54 00.27 -24 54 34.9  13.15
 2014-Sep-07 14:00     23 02 21.79 -26 54 20.2  12.78
 2014-Sep-07 15:00     23 15 54.90 -29 56 01.5  12.36
 2014-Sep-07 16:00     23 41 30.72 -34 57 47.3  11.87
 2014-Sep-07 17:00     00 45 10.54 -43 59 33.9  11.37
 2014-Sep-07 18:00     04 22 34.63 -51 09 28.3  11.52