...Here it is, the Dwarf Planet Makemake 2005 FY9 [
link to nova.astrometry.net]
Makemake (dwarf planet): [
link to en.wikipedia.org]
I just realized how easy this would make searching for new objects. Just upload your image to Astrometry.net, load the KMZ file into Google Sky, then slide the slider back and forth and see what disappears. Too cool, there has to be something wrong with that scenario, it's too easy.
Quoting: TBar1984 Actually, that is one way to do it.
All that time I spent looking at the images and comparing them to Starry Night Pro
What do you want do do with this? I ran the Observer Ephemeris and from Nerpio this image would have been made around 2200 UT Today.
[
link to ssd.jpl.nasa.gov]
Quite right. 21:36-21:46 to be exact.
I don't know how to you want to attack it, I was just thinking a short video recapping their latest hissy fit, making sure to point out that astrometry.net can solve images from every area of the sky. The index files it compares against have complete sky coverage, the more massive index files for small image scales (narrow field images) are split up into 12 segments that piece together to form the complete sky (the index files for widefield images are in single pieces that cover the entire sky at once). Here's an image showing the breakup of the larger index files:
[
link to trac.astrometry.net]
The index files themselves are derived from the USNO-B catalogue of stars, but it can also be adapted to use the Tycho2 catalog or indeed any FITS binary table with RA and DEC. The bottom line is that it doesn't use Flickr as the database as skyview claimed, they just provide their services for flickr users.
You can mention they also tried to say that we weren't able to see into the kuiper belt, then hit them with our image of Makemake and say we asked them to take an image of a known kuiper belt object like this one that could be astrometrically solved, but so far they haven't shown any real KBOs like this. Mention of course that the coordinates show that it was taken today and that it is solvable astrometrically.
Ok, I'll do some more research on it. Maybe tomorrow I can get something out. For those that have trouble with JPL Horizons, this is the output;
Current Settings
Ephemeris Type [change] : OBSERVER
Target Body [change] : Asteroid 136472 Makemake (2005 FY9)
Observer Location [change] : RAS Observatory, Nerpio [I89] ( 357°40'26.0''E, 38°09'55.0''N, 1636.6 m )
Time Span [change] : Start=2012-07-12 18:00 ut, Stop=2012-07-13, Step=30 m
Table Settings [change] : defaults
Display/Output [change] : default (formatted HTML)
Date__(UT)__HR:MN R.A._(ICRF/J2000.0)_DEC APmag delta deldot S-O-T /r S-T-O
*******************************************************************************************************
$$SOE
2012-Jul-12 18:00 * 12 37 34.89 +27 13 41.3 16.92 52.6242003734727 23.7590746 69.2532 /T 1.0430
2012-Jul-12 18:30 * 12 37 34.91 +27 13 40.4 16.92 52.6244864792093 23.7971974 69.2363 /T 1.0429
2012-Jul-12 19:00 * 12 37 34.94 +27 13 39.5 16.92 52.6247730346628 23.8337090 69.2194 /T 1.0428
2012-Jul-12 19:30 * 12 37 34.97 +27 13 38.6 16.92 52.6250600162659 23.8679201 69.2025 /T 1.0426
2012-Jul-12 20:00 C 12 37 35.00 +27 13 37.7 16.92 52.6253473923872 23.8991814 69.1855 /T 1.0425
2012-Jul-12 20:30 N 12 37 35.03 +27 13 36.8 16.92 52.6256351238745 23.9268940 69.1685 /T 1.0424
2012-Jul-12 21:00 A 12 37 35.05 +27 13 35.9 16.92 52.6259231647279 23.9505202 69.1514 /T 1.0423
2012-Jul-12 21:30 12 37 35.08 +27 13 35.1 16.92 52.6262114628904 23.9695923 69.1344 /T 1.0422
2012-Jul-12 22:00 12 37 35.11 +27 13 34.2 16.92 52.6264999611429 23.9837212 69.1173 /T 1.0421
2012-Jul-12 22:30 12 37 35.14 +27 13 33.3 16.92 52.6267885980878 23.9926024 69.1002 /T 1.0420
2012-Jul-12 23:00 12 37 35.17 +27 13 32.4 16.92 52.6270773092049 23.9960221 69.0831 /T 1.0419
2012-Jul-12 23:30 12 37 35.20 +27 13 31.5 16.92 52.6273660279605 23.9938600 69.0660 /T 1.0418
2012-Jul-13 00:00 12 37 35.23 +27 13 30.6 16.92 52.6276546869515 23.9860921 69.0488 /T 1.0417
$$EOE
Enter the positions into Google Sky and see which one comes closest to the Makemake blob.
