We’ve got an asteroid orbiting our sun, passing our planets closely enough to be a little unsettling. Last night it was visible in the sky, tonight it will be even closer.
Hermes is fast approaching Earth, and on Nov. 4th it will pass by our planet 18 times farther away than the moon. Already the asteroid is about as bright as a 13th magnitude star — an easy target for 8-inch telescopes equipped with CCD cameras. Where should you point your ‘scope? Consult the JPL Ephemeris for details.
Hermes approaches Earth’s orbit twice every 777 days. Usually our planet is far away when the orbit crossing happens, but in 1937, 1942, 1954, 1974 and 1986, Hermes came harrowingly close to Earth itself. We know about most of these encounters only because Lowell Observatory astronomer Brian Skiff re-discovered Hermes… on Oct. 15, 2003.
Simulate the Hermes asteroid Orbit
Providing I can remember this time, I’d like to look for it tonight, but unfortunately, the forecast isn’t promising.