2021 February 1 UT – Classical KBO 96TS66

For this event, RECON is pursuing Classical Kuiper Belt Object 96TS66. If all goes well, there is a more than one in three probability (37%) of capturing this event. As with all campaigns this year, teams should follow CDC guidelines (including wearing masks and practicing physical distancing) to ensure the safety of all participants during the current COVID pandemic. Feel free to reach out to our email at tnorecon-org@mailman.boulder.swri.edu if there is anything we can do to help remotely. We appreciate you, RECON – stay safe!

Event Details

96TS66 is a Kuiper Belt Object that will be almost 38 AU from the Earth at event time. For all event details (including sense-up) visit: RECON Event Detail Page for 96TS66.

Print this page and the Event Detail Page (see link above) and practice on the target star field prior to the event.

Pre-Event Checklist

  1. Complete the RECON Campaign Signup Form for this event. Some participants have had trouble using Internet Explorer to sign up when there are more than one upcoming campaign.  We recommend using an alternate internet browser.  Submissions are updated hourly on our Signup Status Page.
  2. Keep power supply plugged in at all times except when in use. Make sure laptop is fully charged well in advance of the event.
  3. Print this page and the Event Detail Page (see link above) and practice on the target star field prior to the event.

Feel free to contact the RECON leadership team anytime by emailing tnorecon-org@mailman.boulder.swri.edu.

Observation Protocol

See our Full Campaign Observation Protocol Page for details on files to save. For teams with our new QHY cameras, you only need to save the event video. For teams still using our MallinCam setup, you should take the following four videos:

  1. Position Video
  2. Event Video
  3. Sky Field Video
  4. Dark Field Video

You should configure VirtualDub to save files sequentially by using “Set Capture File” to save as C:/Users/RECON/Data/YYYYMMDD/YYYYMMDD_01. You should record the filenames and information about each file using the RECON Observation Logsheet or a text file with the same information.

Image of Star Field

Image of field for 2021-02-01, 96TS66 campaign. This is a 2-second exposure and will match the MallinCAM field.
Image of field for 2021-02-01, 96TS66 campaign. This is a 2-second exposure and will match the new QHY camera field of view.

Post-Event Details

Regardless of whether your team was able to collect data, we need all teams to complete the RECON Campaign Observation Report Form within one week of the event. To view reports from teams from throughout the network, check out the Event Reporting Status Page.

If your team collected data, we also need you to save an electronic version of your log sheet and upload both your videos and observation log to SwRI in Boulder. For more information procedures for uploading data, visit Reporting Observations.