FMO (Fast Moving Object) in foreground of NGC891 core.

While imaging NGC 891 on the evening of Dec. 3rd, a stellar-like object
moved in front of the core of NGC 891. Twelve images were taken in all
and these 3 images are to show the object (middle frame) and the before
and after frames. Object does not appear in any other image. The frame
showing the object was taken at 8:04pm MST (03:04UT 04-DEC-2005). All
images are 8 minute single exposures with a 10 second interval.
Telescope - TEC APO 140 (5.5 in./980mm f/7 refractor), no reducer or
flattener. No darks or flats. Baader UV/IR filter. Camera - Canon Rebel
XT, IR filter removed.

http://www.pbase.com/wjshaheen/fmo_in_ngc891

Interesting, at least. Comments welcome.

Bill Shaheen
Gold Canyon, AZ

wrote:
While imaging NGC 891 on the evening of Dec. 3rd, a stellar-like object
moved in front of the core of NGC 891. Twelve images were taken in all
and these 3 images are to show the object (middle frame) and the before
and after frames. Object does not appear in any other image. The frame
showing the object was taken at 8:04pm MST (03:04UT 04-DEC-2005). All
images are 8 minute single exposures with a 10 second interval.
Telescope - TEC APO 140 (5.5 in./980mm f/7 refractor), no reducer or
flattener. No darks or flats. Baader UV/IR filter. Camera - Canon Rebel
XT, IR filter removed.

http://www.pbase.com/wjshaheen/fmo_in_ngc891

Interesting, at least. Comments welcome.

Bill Shaheen
Gold Canyon, AZ


No proof of motion... two objects?

Fist image shows tracking problems. All the stars show a clear but
minor 10 o'clock elongation.

Stars are round on the second and third images.Tightest on the second.
Focussing variations?

Your light track on the second image is resolved into 4 clearly
seperated round images if you enlarge the image. This suggests a
distant tumbling object with variable reflectivity I think. Or a
distant blinking object.

Chris.B

Chris.B wrote:
Fist image shows tracking problems. All the stars show a clear but
minor 10 o'clock elongation.

Stars are round on the second and third images.Tightest on the second.
Focussing variations?

Your light track on the second image is resolved into 4 clearly
seperated round images if you enlarge the image. This suggests a
distant tumbling object with variable reflectivity I think. Or a
distant blinking object.

Chris.B

Edit: I meant to add that the trajectory of the object is not straight
but curves slightly upwards on the second image. The end of the track
is interesting. Seeming to curve steeply downwards and form a
fan-shaped spray of light towards the core. None of this appears on the
first or third images.

Do you have a larger second image we can look at to confirm this? :-)

No, unfortunately I do not have a larger second image. But, I agree,
based on it's behavior (the strange "S" pattern and the blinking
apearance), it is more than likely a piece of tumbling debris in earth
orbit. (By the way, it is definitely NOT a cosmic ray hit.)

Was hoping someone would have an image from the same timeframe.

Thanks.

Bill

Pierre - thanks just the same for the suggestion. The reason I was so
emphatic is that from my experience as a SpaceWatch Reviewer, I've seen
so many hits (and in some of my own images I've taken) that it just
doesn't appear to have the characteristics. When I magnify the image,
it does not have the jagged series of pixels all having the same or
close to the same brightness. This object has a trailing/diminishing
series of pixels and appears to skip over some pixels in the train
(hence, the tumbler). And, of course, it's all moot if noone else can
confirm the observation with a similar image.

Regards and many thanks for your contribution!

Bill in Gold Canyon, AZ

Perhaps one day they will have minimum wage space workers going round
clearing up the space debris for recycling? Once it's up there it would
be cheaper to re-use than overcoming earth's gravity with new
materials.

What about the apparent curve of the object's trajectory? Could this be
an artefact of your driven instrument "following the sky" rather than
the object itself? If the object was almost line-of-sight would this
produce an artificial curve on the image? Or are we talking about a
possible external atmospheric 'bouncer' here?

Chris.B

wrote:

Pierre - thanks just the same for the suggestion. The reason I was so
emphatic is that from my experience as a SpaceWatch Reviewer, I've seen
so many hits (and in some of my own images I've taken) that it just
doesn't appear to have the characteristics. When I magnify the image,
it does not have the jagged series of pixels all having the same or
close to the same brightness.

Equally though it doesn't appear to be convolved with the long exposure
point spread function of your telescope. I'd say it was 2-3x sharper.
That is circumstantial evidence for it being quickly over.

How do cosmic ray hits appear on one shot colour cameras? I could
imagine the interaction with the Bayer mask along certain diagonal
tracks might make the intensity vary. But I can't see any obvious chroma
variation though so I am inclined to discount that possibilty.

It may have been a transient thing like a micro meteorite. But since it
is so enticingly close to the nucleus it may still be of interest to
professional astronomers just in case it is an observation of something
extremely transient occurring near the object. Hard to imagine
something that would be quick enough though.

Professional images of this galaxy tend to burn out the nucleus...

This object has a trailing/diminishing
series of pixels and appears to skip over some pixels in the train
(hence, the tumbler). And, of course, it's all moot if noone else can
confirm the observation with a similar image.

It would be great if someone did have a contemporaneous image.

Regards,
Martin Brown