8 replies to this topic

[Sky King]

4-27-25    (349) Dembowska

 

35 images at 120s, C11, ASI2400MC Pro, UV/IR filter

 

(349) Dembowska is a main belt asteroid which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter every 5.0 years. It is a large object, 140 km in diameters. It is classified as an R-type asteroid for the presence of strong absorption lines in olivine and pyroxene with little or no metals. It may have undergone partial melting/differentiation, according to wiki. 

 

Wiki also notes that (349) Dembowska was discovered on 9 December 1892, by the French astronomer Auguste Charlois while working at the observatory in Nice, France. It is named in honor of the Baron Hercules Dembowski, an Italian astronomer who made significant contributions to research on double and multiple stars.

 

According to ASTAP, notated and rotated:

 

 

 

 

Gif:

 

 

[Mike Phillips]

Excellently done. Love the research insights and animation

Mike P in NC

[Sky King]

Excellently done. Love the research insights and animation

Mike P in NC

Thanks Mike and others, glad you liked it.  Al

[lajoswinkler]

Very nice, great work.

Also, you have a hair on your sensor.

[Sky King]

Very nice, great work.

Also, you have a hair on your sensor.

Thanks! Don't know what that hair is, not on the raw frames or in gif. Maybe an artifact.

[DuncanJ]

This is super impressive.  I am struggling to find Vesta!

[Sky King]

This is super impressive.  I am struggling to find Vesta!

Thanks! Vesta is bright (mag 5.6) and a phone app (Sky Safari) will tell you the Ra (14, 47, 7) and Dec (-03, 56, 9) to go to. Or look what it is close to and go there (NGC 5792). Use ASTAP to verify you have it in your image. These keep moving so you need to be accurate. Use telescopius.com to find NGC 5792 and by entering your telescope info and camera info you can see your field of view. Just some ideas I have used. In the sky.org can also help. There is also the Sky Live. Also you can generate Asteroid Ephemeris here. Pretty exciting once you image it! Good luck! 

Edited by Sky King, 05 May 2025 - 01:01 PM.

[DuncanJ]

Great tips on searching for Vesta, i was trying to think of what could be a possible close candidate star.  Got a very large sensor on my scope and could run a focuser, at f10 (8inch SCT) the field of view is always going to be pretty small.

[Sky King]

Great tips on searching for Vesta, i was trying to think of what could be a possible close candidate star.  Got a very large sensor on my scope and could run a focuser, at f10 (8inch SCT) the field of view is always going to be pretty small.

You have to try different approaches and see what works in your situation. If you are just beginning and frustrated, you could post a thread and get a lot of help from CNers. Clear Skies!