Tonight, many amateur astronomers and school classes are eagerly awaiting to see the asteroid Eros, now at its closest to Earth, rise into the night sky. From January 28 to February 3 they will take an image of Eros on each night, either through a telescope or with a telephoto lens, at designated times depending on their location. Photographs of Eros submitted by amateur astronomers around the world will show slight differences in the asteroid’s position due to parallax. Along with each observer’s location, this parallax information will be used to find a precise distance to Eros, just like professional astronomers did in January 1931.
Among the telescopes aimed at Eros are the robotic 1.2 meter MONET telescope at the McDonald Observatory in Texas and its twin at the South African Astronomical Observatory in South Africa. The two telescopes are employed for education purposes and remotely controlled by students. Another educational telescope, the 2 meter Liverpool Telescope on the Spanish island of La Palma, will probably also be used to get images of Eros.
The Eros Parallax Project is first and foremost just fun to participate. You don’t have to be an experienced astrophotographer to be able to make valuable observations. An ordinary SRL camera with telephoto lens, mounted on a tripod, may already give satisfactory results. Using free, online software you will determine the celestial coordinates of Eros on your images and submit the data to our website. Using the data submitted by you and all other participants, the distance to Eros will be calculated. The instructions on our website are clear and simple to follow.
But the Eros Parallax Project is also a great educational opportunity – the data and submitted images will be made available for classrooms to use to process the submitted figures themselves. This resource will last forever, and will certainly inspire some young astronomers to take part the next time Eros comes close to Earth again. It will also prepare classrooms for the even rarer event coming in June – the transit of Venus. Along with enjoying the night sky, developing observing skills and gaining an understanding of our solar system, participants and the students who benefit will repeat the work of the professional astronomers of the 1930s and learn about real research.
The Eros Parallax Project is run under the aegis of Astronomers Without Borders and is open to everyone. So, join this international campaign, get out with your camera or telescope and start shooting Eros tonight! Don’t forget to submit your measurements and to upload your pictures to our online depository.
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