Vesta Close to mars

[Guest Tweedledum]

Vesta is close to Mars at the mo.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mwf6v1uj8terjwp/Screenshot%202014-04-16%2018.47.43.png

[Brantuk]

Yup so's Ceres - but a lump of rock that small will be very difficult to see - almost impossible.

[Perkil8r]

Yup so's Ceres - but a lump of rock that small will be very difficult to see - almost impossible.

 

Apparently both quite possible with binos!

[Brantuk]

Hmmm... very interesting - I might just try that.

[Perkil8r]

I forget now where I read it, I guess it will need some good skies though, and for you to know exactly what you are looking for and where.

[Guest Tweedledum]

stellarium had vesta at mag 5.5 and extincted to 6. Should be a viable target :--

 

 

Quote from space rocks..

 

Asteroids get their name partly because of their small size, as they are all too small to appear to us as anything other than stars in the night sky. They give themselves away only by their motion, which reveals they are not actually stars, but something much closer.

Both Vesta and Ceres are slightly too faint to be visible with the naked eye, but both are easily visible in binoculars. If you observe them even a day apart, you will be able to see their movement against the background stars.

[Brantuk]

I've always wondered about those two - will deffo give it a try next time the clouds are absent.