Forwarded from the Minor Planet Mailing List I'm tracking it now and it's moving fast. It transits in about 30 minutes Here are coordinates for those who might like to try to follow it: K10T54D Date UT R.A. (J2000) Decl. h m s 2010 10 12 050000 00 34 39.8 -03 25 20 2010 10 12 060000 00 27 04.9 -03 30 36 2010 10 12 070000 00 15 33.2 -03 37 53 2010 10 12 080000 23 56 17.5 -03 48 27 patrick Begin forwarded message:
Date: 11 October 2010 17:13:54 MDT To: mpml@yahoogroups.com Subject: {MPML} 2010 TD54 passes by at a distance of 44,000 km
Observers should note that this object appears to be exhibiting a rotation period of a little over 84 seconds, appearing to get brighter and fainter by at least 0.7 magnitudes every 42 seconds. It will pass closest to the Earth (44,000 km from the surface) around October 12 11:00 UT. During the hours leading up to this point, the object will brighten attaining 14th magnitude about 08:00 UT and continuing to brighten eventually reaching 13th magnitude for a short interval around 10:00 UT. By 11:00 UT it becomes effectively unobservable owing to its rapid motion and increasingly high phase angle as it heads for conjunction with the Sun later the same day.
Photometry of images taken whilst the object is bright is to be encouraged but exposure times should be kept, possibly as brief as 1-2 seconds. Also, opening the camera shutter for at least 40 seconds should reveal a trail which should show the object becoming brighter and fainter during the exposure interval.
I would be interested to know of anyone obtaining images suitable for analysis. Short trailed images are perfectly acceptable.
Good luck. Richard Miles British Astronomical Association
------------------------------------