Asteroid: (2166) Florence
(2166) Florence is a 10.1 magnitude, 2.7-mile wide asteroid that orbits Earth every 2 - 4 years on average. Its distance is 1.8 AU and orbits between Earth and Mars. It is named in honor of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the founder of modern nursing. This 2017 encounter is the closest by this asteroid since 1890 and the closest it will ever be until after 2500.
Location: Home
Date: 2017-09-02/08
Time: various times each evening
Equipment: Binoculars, 10x30 IS + Meade 200XL with Canon D800
S&T Chart Reference: 62
Transparency: Good (3)
Seeing: Good (3)
From September 3 to September 8, I followed the asteroid as it passed through the skies above our home. The asteroid passed through several constellations - Delphinus, Vulpecula, Cygnus and Cepheus - in its trek past our planet. It was interesting to see the "speed" at which it travelled day to day let alone on any given evening. Fascinating. It first caught my attention as it was approaching Cygnus.
September 4-5, 2017
Time: 9:00 PM - 12:40 AM
High haze, 17º C, no wind. Used binoculars to try to find the asteroid. I found Cygnus 39 and Cygnus 41 but couldn't see the asteroid. Jerry then set up the telescope and camera and took a series of photos. It was then that after viewing the photos and comparing to star charts that the location of the asteroids was found. I then followed it through the star field for several hours and sketched its path.
 |
Jumbo Edition (2015) |
 |