AP 13

The Zodiacal Light

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A product of reflective cometary and asteroidal dust, the ghostly light-cone rises over a Venus-studded western horizon, climbing past Aries and on towards the Pleiades. March 9 2015, 2030 UT.

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Asteroid (2) Pallas

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15 months after the detection of Ceres, Pallas (circled) became history’s second asteroid when discovered by Olbers in 1802. Diameter 340 miles, Earth distance 225 million miles, mag 9.4. With (a) HIP 87777 in Hercules. May 13 2015, 0052 IST.

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Iridium Flare

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Magnitude -3.9 Venus buzzed by magnitude -5.2 Iridium 72, launched from California in 1998 as one of a fleet of telecommunications satellites orbiting at an altitude of ~780km. May 27 2015, 2331 IST.

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Polar Comet

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The rare passage of a comet past the North celestial pole (marked x); C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy, arrowed) at declination +89° 02′, 1¼° from Polaris. Now 215 million miles from Earth at mag 9. Russian rocket body Cosmos 2237 (launched 1993) also visible. May 30 2015, 0032 IST.

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