4 Vesta

[yeti monster]

Being classed as a minor planet, I'll post this here:

After several fruitless attempts, and having been unable to verify previous possible observations, last night I finally found and confirmed my sighting of this one.

It took ages of aiming and then seeing things all go whispy due to cloudage. I had actually given up on looking, as Leo totally disappeared for quite a while, that's when I turned to Crux and sketched the Jewel box.

After another fruitless go at 4 Vesta, I turned to Alpha Centuri and took in the feelings which come with seeing a new and specific target.

As I was about to pack away I saw that Leo was once again clear, so had one last shot. Locating was easy last night, due to its position forming a right angled triangle. A check on stellarium comfirmed my sighting and I was able to retire after a rather rewarding session, one which, earlier on, had looked like being a total waste of time.

[DarkerSky]

Vesta is a very satisfying capture. Well done. I saw it for the first time earlier this year. Love how you can plot its movement over the course of just a few hours

[JamesK]

Checked it according to maps as soon as I got out last night, found a 7th magnitude "star" in the right area that wasn't on the charts. Sketched the area roughly... hoping for a clear night soon so I can check it. I'll get very excited if it has moved since it'll be my first minor planet.