Happy New Year, Defenders of the Earth!
Last year, 2941 near-Earth objects (NEOs) were discovered!
To start 2021, your target is the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) (332446) 2008 AF4. Tonight, it will fly by Earth at 21:52 UTC and will come about 2,282,961 miles (3,674,070 kilometers) away from Earth!
Luckily, this asteroid will be visible until January 20. For the most part, it will be rising early in the morning.
NEA (332446) 2008 AF4 a fascinating target for January because it doesn’t have a lightcurve or a model shape yet.
Quick Facts about asteroid (332446) 2008 AF4:
- Belongs to the subgroup of NEAs known as Apollo asteroids
- Diameter: about 400 meters (1312 feet)
- It was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project on January 10, 2008
How to observe it:
- Search for “2008 AF4” in the Explore Menu
- (332446) 2008 AF4 will show up, select “Go to”
- Start Enhanced Vision
- Every 40 minutes, “Go to” (332446) 2008 AF4 via the Explore Menu and restart Enhanced Vision. The asteroid crosses the eVscope’s field of view (FOV) in about an hour.
By gathering enough observations of this asteroid, we may be able to determine its spin period!
An example of what your LOG should look like:
If you have any questions, please contact us at citizenscience@unistellaroptics.com.
Send an email to citizenscience@unistellaroptics.com to let us know that you have observed, including your LOG and ephemeris table.
Clear skies! 🔭
SETI/Unistellar Planetary Defense Team
