Tracking JWST launcher.

[Xilman]

Now that JWST is up and on its way to its L2 orbital position, the upper stage of the Ariane launcher that put it there is in a (highly perturbed) solar orbit. We know it will return to the vicinity of the Earth around 2047 but not precisely where and when. Recovering it will be quite tricky without a good prediction from an accurate orbit. This is where amateur astronomers can play a big role.

All we have to do is image the launcher for as long as possible and measure its position against the background stars as precisely as possible. It is also moving, so you need to record the timing of the images to within a second or so. Finally, because it is so close to the Earth there will be a significant parallax effect so you need to report your geographical position too.

The object is currently around 16th magnitude. It should remain visible until some time in February, though that depends on scope aperture, sky conditions, exposure length and so on.

Bill Gray at http://projectpluto.com is coordinating the results. I can likely help out by answering questions you may have.

 

Paul