Planetary Defense

Missions

Find up-to-the-minute visibilities and deeplinks for Planetary Defense targets on the Moving Target Ephemeris page.

MISSION 2008 OS7


2008 OS7 is a Potentially Hazardous Near-Earth Asteroid with a diameter somewhere between 220 and 500 meters. On February 2nd 2008 OS7 is going to come within 7 lunar distances of Earth with a peak magnitude of 14.6, before quickly moving into the morning sun. While 2008 OS7 is going to be moving too fast to observe at the time of the flyby it will be bright enough for the eVscope to capture starting January 28th!  
To observe your target:
Follow the HowTo Guide for A. The target is in the Unistellar app’s database.
Use the following observation parameters:
Record Duration: 40 minutes
Exposure time: 4 seconds
Gain: 25 dB
The target is also available on the Moving Target Ephemeris webpage.
Only one observation is needed.

MISSION 187026 (2005 EK70)

This month we’ll be trying to get a lightcurve of the asteroid 187026 (2005 EK70). This asteroid has a diameter between 900 and 2000 meters, which would be enough to devastate a region if not cause catastrophic effects for the world if it were to collide with Earth. Thankfully, 187026 is not considered a potentially hazardous asteroid with little-to-no chance of a collision in the coming centuries. Instead, we’d like to learn more about it by observing its lightcurve. Little is known about this asteroid and this is your chance to change that. This observational campaign will run from February 13th to February 20th, when 187026 will be at its brightest.
To observe your target:
Follow the HowTo Guide for A. The target is in the Unistellar app’s database.
Use the following observation parameters:
Record Duration: 40 minutes
Exposure time: 4 seconds
Gain: 25 dB
The target is available on the Moving Target Ephemeris webpage.
It is suggested to take at least 3 observations.

NEW HERE?

Head to our Tutorial for guidance on how to master your Unistellar telescope to become a Planetary Guardian. If you have any questions please contact us at [email protected].