Asteroid Vesta passes Open Cluster M23

[Stub Mandrel 12,971]

Hopefully this competition allows minor planets as well as the big 8,9 or whatever...

The Asteroid 4 Vesta is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye in dark skies and is rapidly approaching opposition. I had to use binoculars as it is low down and the skies there are so bright I could only use 30 second subs. As a special treat, last night it was passing very close to the open cluster M23 in Sagittarius, the first Messier Object I have imaged that low down. Due to trees in the line of fire and a Microsoft Update that self-started I was only able to get 17 subs using my 130P-DS and cooled 450D. Much longer would have blurred Vesta anyway. The cluster is obvious, but Vesta is by far and away the brightest object in the image.

[Davey-T 18,274]

There's a coincidence Neil, I was just playing with various scope camera combo's to try and fit M23, Vesta and NGC6440 in the frame.

Dave