Special about asteroid 2001
PM9
2001 PM9 is a PHA asteroid of the Apollo class, of absolute magnitude
H=18.5 (i.e., about 330-740 metres in diameter), discovered by NEAT on Aug, 11.
Try to find it moving in the animation ... or wait to spot it after reading this issue of
Tumbling Stone!
(click here to see the solution) |
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Same old tale of an asteroid
(or…the worst holiday of my life)
by Andrea Milani - Copyright Tumbling Stone 2001
The story begins on the morning of Saturday 11
August 2001, Central European Time (CET), but in Arizona it is full night, and the new
asteroid observing station on Mount Palomar is doing its job very efficiently. One of the
discoveries of this night moves faster than allowed for a main belt asteroid, thus the
data are immediately forwarded to the Minor Planet Center, where it is posted on the Near
Earth Objects Confirmation Page... click
here for the full article |
Feelings of an amateur observer of NEAs
by Jaime Nomen - Copyright Tumbling Stone 2001
In what follows, I will report on the really
exciting time experienced when I faced the challenge of following up 2001 PM9 and that, I
am convinced, many other observers with medium equipment have lived some time in their
lives.
It was a quite clear night and there was an important suggestion to try to observe the
object. Genny Sansaturio had provided me with ephemerides generated with NEODyS for 2001
PM9 and, after solving my contradictory feelings, I decided to give it a try... click here for the full article |
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