2015 December 5 UT – Bienor

Event Details

Object: (54598) Bienor
Object Type: Centaur
Event Date: 2015 December 5 UT
Geocentric Approach: 07:43:57 UT

Sense-Up: x128
RA: 01:58:49.6  (of date)
DEC: +33:14:01 (of date)
Observing Times: See RECON Event Detail Page for additional information, including a global map showing the predicted centerline, details about the event, a star training set, and observing window for each RECON site.

There are two options for indicating that your team is prepared for this event. You can use either option – whichever is easier for you.

If there are technical or scheduling issues, please contact the RECON leadership team by emailing tnorecon-org@mailman.boulder.swri.edu.

Notes

This is the second of two official campaigns scheduled for the first week of December 2015. This star for this event is VERY faint; if you are lucky, you will just be able to see it in the camera image. Because of this, having a very sharp focus will be essential for getting good data, so please remember to use your Bahtinov Mask to focus prior to the event.  In addition, an advanced technique for focusing involves looking for really faint stars in the field that just become visible when in sharp focus but are not visible when out of focus. We recommend checking out a recently added guide titled Focusing Tips.

We encourage team members to make sure your power supplies are charged and to check out the Pre-Event Checklist in our Guides Section.

We have also received an updated prediction map based on additional astrometry.  This update as of December 3 placed the shadow path over Northern California/Southern Oregon.

Updated path prediction as of December 3

Updated path prediction as of December 3

You should make one continuous recording of the event. You should also make a separate short recording of your position information using the switch on the front of the IOTA-VTI box.  Adjust the switch to POSITION, record the screen showing your latitude/longitude for 3-5 seconds, and then adjust the switch back to TIME. Thank you for keeping track of your observations using the RECON Observation Logsheet.

Finder Charts

The following chart was generate using the AAVSO Variable Star Plotter:

Starchart for Bienor generated using AAVSO VSP

Starchart for Bienor generated using AAVSO VSP

Here is an additional chart provided by Jerry Bardecker using Guide 9.0:

Star chart for Bienor event provided by Jerry Bardecker

Star chart for Bienor event provided by Jerry Bardecker

Images of Star Field

Starfield for Bienor taken by John Keller at Cal Poly (using CPC-1100 and standard Mallincam at x128 around event time)

Starfield for Bienor taken by John Keller at Cal Poly (using CPC-1100 and standard Mallincam at x128 around event time)

Note that the target star is VERY faint; if you are lucky, you will just be able to see it in the camera image. Do your best to focus the camera as sharply as possible (see guide with Focusing Tips).

Post-Event Details

Use the RECON Data Transfer Tool to upload your files to SwRI in Boulder and complete the Post-Event Observation Report.