------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2026 2004 Aug 23 15.00UT Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise, Basingstoke, Hants, RG22 4PP,England.Telephone/FAX(01256)471074Int:+441256471074 INTERNET: GUY@TAHQ.DEMON.CO.UK GMH at AST.STAR.RL.AC.UK WORLD WIDE WEB http://www.theastronomer.org ------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL ABSENCE The editor will be away and unavailable to deal with telephone calls or e-mails from tomorrow, Tuesday August 24 until Wednesday September 1. During that period please contact either Nick James or Denis Buczynski, assistant editors, with regard to any urgent messages (eg potential discoveries). After August 26 Nick will also be away so calls should be directed to Denis only. Contact details can be found on the first page of each issue of 'The Astronomer'. During next weekend the editor will be attending to give a talk at the Scottish Astronomy Weekend in Dundee. I would very much like to meet any TA subscribers there who plan to attend. 2004 FU162 The Central Bureau have belatedly announced that this asteroid was discovered by Lincoln Laboratory ETS, New Mexico (station 704) as follows: C2004 03 31.27744 13 30 48.30 -05 09 28.8 16.7 EQ022704 C2004 03 31.28749 13 30 45.24 -05 14 22.5 16.9 EQ022704 C2004 03 31.29790 13 30 41.55 -05 19 43.3 17.5 EQ022704 C2004 03 31.30799 13 30 37.61 -05 25 11.8 16.9 EQ022704 Orbital elements: 2004 FU162 Epoch 2004 July 14.0 TT = JDT 2453200.5 Chesley M 33.72709 (2000.0) P Q n 1.31111456 Peri. 139.80776 +0.87470240 +0.48445394 a 0.8267527 Node 191.24124 -0.46121410 +0.82306453 e 0.3919592 Incl. 4.16120 -0.14892032 +0.29642732 P 0.75 H 28.7 G 0.15 U 9 Residuals in seconds of arc 040331 704 0.1+ 0.0 040331 704 0.3+ 0.0 040331 704 0.3- 0.0 040331 704 0.1- 0.0 Gareth Williams comments that this object passed some 0.000086 AU (= 13000 km) from the centre of the earth on 2004 Mar. 31.65. By the time the object was detected and reported to the Minor Planet Center it had moved into the daylight sky, making follow-up impossible. It was obvious that a very close approach had just occurred. A search by the discoverers for prediscovery images was unsuccessful. Although the observed arc is only 44 minutes, the orbit is quite determinate and, given the exceptional nature of this close approach, the object is now receiving a designation. The above orbit is by S. R. Chesley (JPL), who also supplied a pre-encounter orbit (epoch 2004 Mar. 31.0 TT): M = 289.81518; Peri. = 289.23728; Node = 11.12350; Incl.= 2.39999; a = 1.0045025; e = 0.3416471. Martin Mobberley adds that as H is given as 28.7, the diameter was probably 5-10 metres across. The object is now listed on the following page by CBAT as being the closest known approach by an asteroid: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/Closest.html Guy M Hurst