Vesta+Ceres in Virgo - e-finder shot

[nytecam]

Used two laptops and two cameras eg SX Lodestar-Mx2 on 30cm SCT + Lodestar-M [old] e-finder last two nights in obsy. 

Here's Vesta and Ceres in Virgo over those two nights with westerly motion of the asteroids via the e-finder - actually their motion is primarily the 'faster' earth overtaking them!

[nytecam]

Update to May 17 and apologies.... ID wrong 'star' for Ceres earlier and corrected below

[nytecam]

Been emailed that my pic above made BAAHomepage POTW shame I got the year wrong in header:-)

[Martin Meredith]

Congratulations!

[Martin Meredith]

BTW There's a couple of pages on the close approximation of Ceres and Vesta in July's Sky & Telescope. Apparently they'll be in the same high-power view on July 4th and 5th at just 10' apart!

Martin

[nytecam]

BTW There's a couple of pages on the close approximation of Ceres and Vesta in July's Sky & Telescope. Apparently they'll be in the same high-power view on July 4th and 5th at just 10' apart!

Martin

Thanks Martin - Mars, Saturn and Arcturus form a 'big triangle' in the sky.  Here's my chart for July 5 in late twilight in the SW showing the gibbous moon nearby - it's further west the previous evening.  Metis and Ariadne ~mag 11 are in the general area too as marked below

[Martin Meredith]

On the 4th July Vesta appears to occult NGC 5183 (mag 12.7). I say occult but I imagine that in CCD terms it will simply blot it out. It will be interesting to see at what point NGC 5183 becomes visible again. It emerges at around 11.30 and by midnight is still less than 1' away. 

(Un)fortunately I will be in the Scottish Highlands no doubt recovering from a hard day's Munroing and without my 'scope to monitor this happening...

Martin