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This medium-sized asteroid will have a close flyby on June 29. Observers in the southern hemisphere are best placed before closest approach, then it moves into northern skies (see the attached ESA Close Approach Fact Sheet).
Use NASA Horizons or the MPC Ephemeris Service to obtain an ephemeris:
https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/app.html#/
https://minorplanetcenter.net/iau/MPEph/MPEph.html
In deepening twilight on the evening of June 29 the asteroid will be mag 11 with a sky motion of ~200″/min.
Astrometry or light curve data (to determine its rotation period) would be of value.
Alex.
As you say, the first opportunity to get this object from the UK is as it gets dark on June 29, around 8 hrs after close approach. It is then moving rapidly north through Pegasus. It is then visible throughout the short night moving rapidly but quite bright (fading from 11.3 to 11.7). By the following night it is well-placed in Andromeda and moving much more slowly but it will have faded to below 14. It then stays in Andromeda as it moves away from us and fades to around mag 18 by the night of July 5/6.
It looks like the weather over the next few nights will make it challenging to see the flyby. Fingers crossed.
To the best of my knowledge, NASA Horizons functions correctly, but I’m neither a distinguished engineer nor an expert witness. 🙂
Alex.
It’s clear in Chelmsford at the moment. Here is the asteroid.
https://britastro.org/observations/observation.php?id=20240629_223859_f40c4f01458212ac
Nicely recorded, Nick.
ESA’s July Newsletter (attached) gives a little more information about the asteroid.
Alex.
The Goldstone SSR did some bistatic Doppler radar imaging of 2024 MK using DSS-14 (transmit) and DSS-13 (receive) at around 2m resolution. The images show that the asteroid is around 150m across:
https://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/june2024.goldstone.planning.html
Petr Pravec had already determined that it was a non-principle axis (aka tumbling) rotator from optical observations showing multiple rotation periods from just over an hour down to around 20 minutes.
2024 MK was still a fairly easy target this morning (July 7) at a range of 6 million km. Magnitude was around 18.6 at brightest.
Attachments:
Last night (July 14/15) was clear here in Chelmsford. This asteroid is now 12 million km away and is around 19.3 at its brightest. It varied quite a bit over my 20x60s subs and, at its faintest is probably mag 20 or so.
https://britastro.org/observations/observation.php?id=20240715_211942_4a7a99b2a55cc815
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