Asteroid (433) Eros
Discovered independently by Witt and Charlois in 1898; the first-known near-Earth asteroid, and second largest (1036 Ganymed – 24 miles). mag 9.6 (arrowed); diameter 10 ml, Earth distance 24m miles. The first asteroid to be orbited by a spacecraft, and the first on which a spacecraft landed (NEAR Shoemaker – Feb 12 2001). Dec 10 2018, 0124 UT. With (a) HIP 20376 in Camelopardalis. [asteroid total: 37]
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Waxing Crescent Moon
May 9 2019; 4 days 22 hours after New Moon. The prominent crater below centre is 60-mile diameter Theophilus.
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C/2018 W2 – Comet Africano
Discovered by Brian Africano (3rd discovery) on Nov 27 2018. Imaged here (circled) 2 days after perihelion, 75 million miles from the Earth; est mag 10.2. Orbital period ~20,000 years. With (a) mag 7.1 HIP 11889 in Perseus. Sep 8 2019, 0029 IST. [30th observed comet]
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Barnard’s Star
The apparently fastest-moving star in the sky (10.3″/yr). Discovered by E.E. Barnard in 1916, a 150,000 mile diameter red dwarf. Distance 5.95 LY (4th closest), mag 9.5v; will close to 3.85 LY before the year 12000. ¾° NW of mag 4.8 66 Oph (A). Sep 9 2019, 2158 IST.
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Recurrent Nova V3890 Sgr
Third recorded eruption (1962, 1990) of this system; a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a massive white dwarf following capture of material from a companion red giant. Maximum brightness of mag 6.7 close to discovery by A. Pereira on Aug 27 2019; quiescent mag ~17. Distance believed to be circa 11,500 LY. Imaged above (arrowed) at est mag 10.5 on Sep 9 at 2144 IST, 1.3° W of globular cluster M22. Below – amidst an arboreal background, dimming to mag 11.5. With (A) mag 5.5 24 Sgr. Sep 18 2019, 2142 IST.
The 10 catalogued recurrent novae in the Milky Way are: CI Aql (outbursts in 1917 and 2000); V394 CrA (1949, 1987); T CrB (1866, 1946); IM Nor (1920, 2002); RS Oph (1898, 1907, 1933, 1945, 1958, 1967, 1985, 2006); V2487 Oph (1900, 1998); T Pyx (1890, 1902, 1920, 1944, 1966, 2011); U Sco (1863, 1906, 1936, 1979, 1987, 1999, 2010); V745 Sco (1937, 1989, 2014); and V3890 Sgr (1962, 1990, 2019).
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Neptune Close Encounter
On Sep 6 2019, Neptune (N) passed just 13 arcseconds south of mag 4.2 phi Aqr (P). Seen here at a separation of 10 arcminutes, 12 degrees east of a 13-day Moon. Sep 12 2019, 2302 IST; 2 days after opposition. Mag 7.7, distance 2.7 billion miles.
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Nova Scuti 2019
Also designated V659 Sct; discovered on October 29th and reached a maximum mag of 8.4. The third bright nova in Scutum in consecutive years. Imaged here at est mag 9.7 on Nov 4 2019, 1909 UT. With (A) mag 5.1 HIP 91105. [8th observed nova]
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2019 Transit of Mercury
Nov 11 2019, 1309 UT; following first contact at 1235, Mercury has traversed 4 arcminutes across the Solar surface. Sun distance: 92 million miles, apparent diameter: 32′. Mercury distance: 62.8 million miles, apparent diameter: 10″ (1/194th); velocity: 130,000mph.
First recorded apparition – below, 1240 UT
Last sighting before cloud obscuration – above, 1325 UT
Movie, at 8 times speed, documenting various interludes from 1240-1325 UT.
Panorama
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Hind’s Crimson Star
Among the most renowned of the carbon stars; discovered by John R Hind in 1845. The Vampire Star (arrowed) varies between sixth and twelfth magnitude; seen here at est mag 7.4 adjacent to the similarly luminous HIP 23129 (h) in Lepus. The DSLR camera magnifies the excess redness, but the stars appeared of equal brightness in binoculars. Also catalogued as R Leporis, at a GAIA-corrected distance of 1364 LY. Dec 3 2019, 0027 UT.
Ireland's Oldest People 