Contains:  Solar system body or event
Asteroid 207 Hedda, Dean Carr

Asteroid 207 Hedda

Asteroid 207 Hedda, Dean Carr

Asteroid 207 Hedda

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

While processing a recent image of the Messier 4 globular cluster, I noticed disturbing artifacts resembling multicolored reflections on the initial integrated/combined RGB image.  The artifacts turned out to be the result of a slow-moving, bright, and relatively large object moving across the camera’s field of view over a period of about 7 ½ hours.  The object was later identified as 207 Hedda, a rather annoying ‘main-belt’ C-Type asteroid (orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter).  Fortunately, the artifacts were easily removed from the image using ‘large-scale pixel rejection’.

Mainly for my own entertainment, I have animated the subframes in chronological order, irrespective of the filters used, to show the path of the mischievous asteroid over the night.  Note that the asteroid’s position will jump a little from time to time during the video – reflecting the times when I changed filters, refocused and/or addressed any minor system issues.

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