Embedded Files
UPDATE: APRIL 12.2025
Author's D3 Capture - Uploaded April 12th 2025
Flora's Transit Complete! Update #3
Flora's Transit Complete! Update #3
As of April 12th, asteroid 8 Flora has finished its fascinating journey across the face of the Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 3628)! This final update marks Flora's departure from its close pass with the stunning Leo Triplet. What a show this week!
The final round of Astro-nut facts for this encounter! Flora, the 8th asteroid ever discovered, is 145 kilometers across and ranks seventh-brightest in the sky. It's the closest sizeable minor planet besides tiny Medusa, and it spins on its axis roughly every 13 hours! Looking at the galactic trio: M66 (bottom left spiral in the Triplet) has hosted several observed supernovae! And the edge-on NGC 3628 (the Hamburger ) possesses a vast, faint tidal tail – a ghostly reminder of past gravitational tussles within the group.
UPDATE: APRIL 11.2025
Author's D3 Capture - Uploaded April 11th 2025
Asteroid (8) Flora Hits the Mark! Update #2
Asteroid (8) Flora Hits the Mark! Update #2
Following up on yesterday's post, here's last night's capture of asteroid (8) Flora slicing directly across the "Hamburger Galaxy" NGC 3628. The streak shows Flora's movement over my 3-hour imaging session relative to the distant galaxy.
Some more astro-nut facts: (8) Flora, named after the Roman goddess of flowers, is the largest and innermost asteroid of the family called Flora. She is 145 kilometres across and the closest sizeable minor planet besides Medusa. Flora is the seventh-brightest asteroid. In contrast, NGC 3628 gets its 'Hamburger Galaxy' nickname from that fantastic edge-on view highlighting its prominent dust lane, and its shape hints at past gravitational interactions with its neighbors M65 & M66.
UPDATE: APRIL 10, 2025
Author's D3 Capture - Uploaded April 10th 2025
Asteroid (8)Flora Track-party Update #1
Asteroid (8)Flora Track-party Update #1
For those of you fellow Astro-nut asteroid trackers, dwarfer's, and the 'just curious' out there, a number of us have been following Flora's progress as she approaches the Leo Triplet Galaxy NGC NGC 3628, which tonight she should pass right in front of. Currently, Flora is 1.56 AU away ≈ 0.00002467 light-years, which means that the light reflected from our sun takes 12.95 light minutes to reach us. Flora is flying away relative to us at 37,080 kilometers per hour (km/h), so she appears as a streak in my image relative to the 'fixed' stars. Way beyond her lies The "Hamburger" galaxy, whose light has taken 35 million light-years to reach us but is also presently speeding away from us at an impressive +809 kilometres per second! Or 2.9 million kilometers per hour (km/h).
ORIGINAL ARTICLE, APRIL 8, 2025
PATH OF MINOR PLANET (8) FLORA THROUGH THE LEO Galaxy TRIPLET FROM APRIL 6TH - 14TH, 2025 - PATH AND CAPTURE BY THE Author
Imagine gazing millions of light-years across the cosmos to admire a stunning trio of galaxies, only to spot a relatively close neighbour from our own solar system drifting silently past them! This is the unique spectacle astronomers and astrophotographers can enjoy in early April 2025, as asteroid (8) Flora journeys through the constellation Leo. For a few nights, its path takes it incredibly close to the famous Leo Triplet, momentarily transforming this beloved galactic group into a cosmic quartet – a truly special sight!
Celestial Encounter Details:
Main Event: Asteroid (8) Flora passes the Leo Triplet galaxies
Date Window: April 9-12, 2025
Location: Constellation Leo
The Visitor: (8) Flora
Type: Large Main-belt Asteroid (~128 km diameter)
Magnitude during pass: ~+10.3 (Telescopic target)
Approx. Distance: ~1.4 AU / ~209 million km from Earth during pass (Note: Rough estimate)
The Residents: Leo Triplet (M65, M66, NGC 3628)
Type: Spiral Galaxies
Distance: ~35 million light-years
Author's D3 capture from April 6th 2025
3D Model of Flora - Image Credit Wikipedia
The Cosmic Dance:
The Cosmic Dance:
Around April 9th-12th, keen observers can track Flora, glowing steadily around 10th magnitude, as it passes alongside the Leo Triplet. Its path is particularly close to the striking edge-on form of NGC 3628, the "Hamburger Galaxy." Seeing this nearby asteroid, light-minutes away, juxtaposed against galaxies whose light has travelled for 35 million years is a mind-bending reminder of space's vast scale and three-dimensional nature! You will need a telescope or a mounted camera to capture the close pass.
Meet the Players:
Meet the Players:
Our visitor, (8) Flora, is no small pebble – it's a substantial asteroid, one of the largest in the inner main belt, just past Mars, known for reflecting sunlight well. Its orbital path brought it into the neighbourhood of the Leo Triplet, a gravitationally bound group containing the beautiful spirals M65 and M66, alongside the dusty marvel, NGC 3628. This galactic trio is a showpiece in the spring night sky.
Flora's Garden: (8) Flora, The Triplet's: NGC 3627, M66, M65 & NGC 3593 (left) - Author's D3 Capture
Capturing "Flora's Garden":
Capturing "Flora's Garden":
An event like this begs to be captured! My "Flora's Garden" image is a two-stack capture totalling over 8 hours of exposure time, stacked and processed in Siril, Photoshop, and Lightroom. You can see the streak of asteroid Flora just to the left of the faint, majestic glow of the three galaxies. My D3, makes capturing such moments more accessible than ever. It's gratifying to see the scope in EQ mode lock onto the field and, through live stacking, slowly reveal the ancient light travelled from the galaxies and the reflected sunlight from Flora, showcasing our solar system dynamics contrasted with the deep-sky backdrop of the Leo Triplet.
A Fleeting Wonder:
A Fleeting Wonder:
Witnessing these alignments is a highlight for any astrophotographer. It underscores the motion within our solar system, set against the near-unchanging canvas of distant galaxies. Capturing asteroid Flora briefly making the Leo Triplet a quartet is a snapshot of this ongoing cosmic ballet—a delightful reminder to keep looking up!
DWARF 3
DWARF 3
The DWARF 3 is an incredible scope for taking deep-reaching shots from the porch or on the go, like Flora's transit! Its small size makes setup lightning fast—perfect for travel or quick backyard sessions. But inside? It has excellent features: Accurate GoTo thanks to plate-solving, easy autofocus, and live stacking that simplifies capturing even tricky faint targets. It's the perfect grab-and-go scope for snagging amazing space pics without the usual fuss!
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