Monday 22nd to Sunday 28th August 2022
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Saturn was at opposition which meant that its rings would be at their brightest. Next week, on Tuesday 23rd, it's the turn of minor planet 4 Vesta to reach opposition and it should have a magnitude of around +6.0. This makes it an easy target for binoculars or a small telescope or even the naked eye from a dark sky location.
4 Vesta is the second largest lump of rock in the Asteroid Belt, only beaten by the dwarf planet Ceres. The "4" signifies that it was the 4th minor planet discovered, back in 1807. It is the brightest asteroid visible from Earth and has a diameter of only 525Km or a little over 300 miles. Vesta's name comes from Roman mythology - the goddess of home and hearth.
So where will it be and how do you find it? If you are outside from 10pm local time, our old friend Saturn will be towards the south east and Jupiter will have just risen above the horizon to the east. If you are in a nice dark location, you might be able to make out the faint cloud of the Milky Way stretching from the southern horizon up towards the bright star Altair.
Anyway.....back to 4 Vesta.....the minor planet is located a little down and to the left of Saturn. I have included a star chart to help you locate it - the trick is to use the patterns of stars on the chart to judge its approximate position.
Finally, some advance notice that I have organised a couple of astronomy lectures and star parties at Ham Hill Country Park for the evenings of Friday 21st October and Friday 18th November. Further details will be available on the Visit South Somerset website and at starsoversomerset.com when the event booking system is set-up.
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2022
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