(Viewed 624 times)

[Centaur]

Near Earth Asteroid 433 Eros will approach to 0.1787 AU (26.7 million km – 16.6 million mi) of Earth on 2012 JAN 31 at magnitude +8.5. That will be its closest since 1975 and until 2056. Eros was the first asteroid known to cross the orbit of Mars, and numerical integration suggests it has the potential to become an Earth impactor millions of years in the future. It is the second largest near Earth asteroid and is shoe-shaped with longest dimension of 34 km. In 2000 it became the first asteroid orbited by spacecraft.

I’ve created three graphics related to Eros:

1) An ephemeris with both current date and J2000.0 coordinates in decimal format for ease of interpolation.

2) A chart in current date geocentric equatorial coordinates.

3) A chart of Earth and Eros in their orbits as viewed from the north side of the solar system.

These can be seen at www.CurtRenz.com/asteroids

Photos and descriptions of Eros would be welcome additions to this thread. Below are six views of Eros as photographed by a NASA spacecraft.

[Centaur]

It's only four days until the unusually close approach of near-Earth asteroid Eros, and seven until its expected greatest brilliance. I've created three more charts graphing Eros' distance, declination and stellar magnitude. So there are now six Eros graphics on my asteroid webpage.

Let's hope we have clear skies during a few of the coming days. Observation reports should be interesting. I hope we receive a few here, or is everyone hibernating for the winter? www.CurtRenz.com/asteroids

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Let's see if I can do an observation on this.

I shall double my tin foil lining under my hard hat.

[Centaur]

Jan 27, 2012 19:58:46 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

Let's see if I can do an observation on this.

I shall double my tin foil lining under my hard hat.

A single layer may be sufficient this time, Joe. Double it in 2056 when Eros is expected to come closer. Closest approach for the current apparition is tomorrow. I wonder if Chicago Astronomers will come out of their winter caves.