NASA asks you to help observe an asteroid

“Your mission, if you accept it.” Use a cult phrase from the movie Mission ImpossibleEric Lagadec intends to pique the curiosity of the Twittersphere. And for good reasons, the astrophysicist of the Côte d’Azur Observatory transmitted on his Twitter account a call for contributions made by the American space agency, NASA, in which the French Astronomy Society decided to participate.

On October 23, at 4 am, a ten-second occultation will be observed. This means that an asteroid called Eurybate will pass in front of a star, just as the moon does with the sun during an eclipse. Only, this asteroid has a special character — “Don’t worry, this person does no wrong to Earth,” Eric Lagadec reassures us — but it will be flown by a mission from the US space agency, the Lucy mission, in August 2027. And “To prepare for this flight, NASA needs to Know this asteroid better” and its trajectory, the astrophysicist outlines.

And this is where the French come in, but also the Spaniards, the Belgians, the Dutch or even the Luxembourgish. Depending on where we are geographically, we will be able to see the star disappear or not. And scientists will really need eyes everywhere To accurately determine where the phenomenon can be visible or not, because thanks to this they will be able to more accurately optimize the trajectory of the asteroid.

To collect this data, the French Astronomy Society invites anyone with a telescope, telescope or digital camera who lives in the asteroid’s path to participate in a “giant collaborative experiment”. They will simply have to try to observe the phenomenon on October 23 and accurately calculate how long the dusk will last. So, are you ready to take on the challenge? from here.

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