Close Approach of Asteroid 2006 VV2

Hi all,

Got this from BAA mailing list.Might be of interest to the astro imagers out there.

BAA electronic bulletin No. 00274 www.britastro.org/
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Close Approach of Asteroid 2006 VV2

Asteroid 2006 VV2 passes close to the Earth at the end of March and the
early part of April. At its closest, on March 31, it will be 0.0226 AU away
(8.8 lunar distances). This will be the closest known approach by an object
this intrinsically bright until May 2036, when binary asteroid (66391) 1999
KW4 (H=16.4) approaches within 6 lunar distances. Observers should be able
to see it through modest telescopes as it reaches 10th magnitude on March
31st and April 1st.

Between 01:00 and 03:00 UT on March 29 the asteroid passes within 25 arc min
of galaxies M82 and M81 and between 19:00 and 21:00 UT on March 31 it
approaches within 3 degrees of galaxies M105, M96 and M95. A list of close
appulses is given below along with the details of a possible occultation
event visible from the UK on the evening of March 31.

2006 VV2 will be a very strong radar target and observations are scheduled
at Goldstone (March 27, 30, and April 1-3) and Arecibo (March 31 and April
1). VV2's physical properties are unknown, but its absolute magnitude of
16.7 suggests a diameter within a factor of two of about 22 km and there is
roughly a 1- in- 6 chance that it is a binary system. Astrometric and
photometric data are requested in support of the radar observations.

Orbital elements

Epoch 2007 Apr. 10.0
Semimajor axis, a 2.3913823 AU
Eccentricity, e 0.6029924
Inclination of orbit, i 23.63379 deg
Argument of perihelion 144.91495 deg
Long. ascending node 10.04975 deg
Mean anomaly, M 9.67407 deg
Period of orbit, P 3.70 years (1350.7 days)
Perihelion distance 0.949 AU
Aphelion distance 3.833 AU
Absolute magnitude, H 16.7

Ephemeris

Date UT RA (J2000) Decl. Delta r El. Ph. V "/min
P.A.

2007 03 25 0000 00 56 22 +82 13.6 0.065 0.989 80.8 95.5 14.2 7.76
037.1
2007 03 26 0000 02 24 30 +84 43,2 0.056 0.993 83.6 93.2 13.7 10.28
058.7
2007 03 27 0000 06 11 45 +85 13.2 0.047 0.997 87.5 89.8 13.2 14.41
115.0
2007 03 28 0000 08 53 39 +80 11.0 0.039 1.001 93.2 84.6 12.6 21.14
154.8
2007 03 29 0000 09 49 31 +70 20.8 0.031 1.005 101.9 76.3 11.9 32.23
168.1
2007 03 30 0000 10 14 23 +54 42.0 0.026 1.010 115.2 63.5 11.0 48.43
173.4
2007 03 31 0000 10 28 10 +32 31.9 0.023 1.014 132.6 46.4 10.3 61.58
175.6
2007 04 01 0000 10 36 54 +08 27.3 0.024 1.019 146.9 32.4 10.0 56.00
176.4
2007 04 02 0000 10 42 58 -10 35.2 0.028 1.024 149.6 29.6 10.3 39.11
176.5

Appulses

2007 Mar 28 20:04 27 UMa (V=5.1), Asteroid (V=12.0) 6' west of star
2007 Mar 29 01:20 Messier 82 (V=9.2), Asteroid (V=11.8 ) 25' east of galaxy
2007 Mar 29 02:20 Messier 81 (V=7.8 ), Asteroid (V=11.8 ) 15' east of galaxy
2007 Mar 30 19:51 bet LMi (V=4.2), Asteroid (V=10.4) 15' west of star
2007 Mar 30 22:42 30 LMi (V=4.7), Asteroid (V=10.3) 22' east of star

OCCULTATION !!!

2007 Mar 31 20:38 HIP 51892 (V=7.25), Asteroid (V=10.0)

This is a K2-type star and the track crosses the UK passing Ayr, Chester,
Shrewsbury, Gloucester and Salisbury. The exact position is uncertain so
observers within say 50-100 km either side of the nominal position may
witness a positive event. The track continues across France and the eastern
tip of Spain. The duration of any event is expected to be less than 0.2 sec
but this can be recorded using a video camera given that the star is so
bright. The drop in brightness is expected to be close to 3 magnitudes.

Further detail can be found on a BAA circular to be issued shortly and on
the Asteroid and Remote Planets Section website at:
homepage.ntlworld.com/roger.dymock/index.htm

Roger Dymock
Director Asteroids and Remote Planets Section

Neill

[code:1]Appulses

2007 Mar 28 20:04 27 UMa (V=5.1), Asteroid (V=12.0) 6' west of star
2007 Mar 29 01:20 Messier 82 (V=9.2), Asteroid (V=11.8) 25' east of galaxy
2007 Mar 29 02:20 Messier 81 (V=7.8), Asteroid (V=11.8) 15' east of galaxy
2007 Mar 30 19:51 bet LMi (V=4.2), Asteroid (V=10.4) 15' west of star
2007 Mar 30 22:42 30 LMi (V=4.7), Asteroid (V=10.3) 22' east of star[/code:1]

less the smilies

[code:1]Appulses

2007 Mar 28 20:04 27 UMa (V=5.1), Asteroid (V=12.0) 6' west of star
2007 Mar 29 01:20 Messier 82 (V=9.2), Asteroid (V=11.8) 25' east of galaxy
2007 Mar 29 02:20 Messier 81 (V=7.8), Asteroid (V=11.8) 15' east of galaxy
2007 Mar 30 19:51 bet LMi (V=4.2), Asteroid (V=10.4) 15' west of star
2007 Mar 30 22:42 30 LMi (V=4.7), Asteroid (V=10.3) 22' east of star[/code:1]

less the smilies

Tidied!