Sunday, April 17, 2011

Tumbling asteroid winks

Asteroid 2011 GP59 is an irregular rock that spins. When we see it side-on it's bright, and end-on it dims. This video is made of 137 separate 30 second exposures, taken by amateur astronomer Nick James of Chelmsford, Essex, England, on April 11, 2011.



The asteroid starts in the center of the frame and moves to the lower right. The stars appear to move as the telescope tracks the asteroid.

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