Pleiades and Asteroid Iris

Can you find the asteroid in this photo? Just look to the right of the Pleiades star cluster!

Occasionally, a few asteroids get bright enough to be barely visible to the naked eye. Such was the case with asteroid Iris in mid-November 2006. An especially favorable opposition brought its brightness up to about magnitude 6.8 -- right around the limit for those with keen eyesight and very dark skies. A finder chart is also a necessity, because even at its brightest an asteroid looks like just another dim star.

Still haven't found the asteroid in this photo? Position your mouse cursor over the image and Iris will come out of hiding.

Date: November 18, 2006
Time: 11:37 p.m. MST
Location: Four Peaks Road, Arizona
Camera: Olympus OM-1 35mm SLR on homemade tracking mount
Film: Fuji Sensia 400 slide (pushed one stop)
Focal length: 100 mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure time: 4 minutes
Scanner: Nikon Coolscan LS-2000