Requiem for Relativity

I think we should be thinking about going there[] An ion rocket engine will give us some good data on aether density, maybe a few more relativity experiments as well as that. What's the next launch window for this brute? As it would have to be sent round the houses to get up to speed. I would hate to watch the launch, then pop my clogs before it gets there[][8D]

Telescope aiming directions: large distant planet Barbarossa in our solar system

Here are aiming directions for March 30, but they're good for the
next 10 days, because this predicted magnitude +17.3 reddish
planet, "Barbarossa", is so far away (190 AU), that it doesn't move
very fast at opposition:

1. Find the 5th magnitude star 14epsilon Crater (the constellation
Crater is S of Leo).

2. Using a finder scope, move slightly more than 1.0 degree NE by N,
to find two unnamed stars, one 7th & one 8th mag, which make
the "crossbar" of the "T" (a very short crossbar) with the star 14epsilon
Crater.

3. Move 0.7 degree straight N of the middle of the "crossbar" in #2.
The 10th mag star there is only 3' NW from my "best" calculated
position for "Barbarossa". My "next best" calculated position
(different method with alternative data) is 11' N of this 10th mag
star.

4. If your field of view is well over 14', aim 4' N of the 10th mag
star in #3. If your field of view is *much* bigger than 14', simply
aim at the 10th mag star, if you wish.

Sincerely,
Joseph C. Keller, M. D.

Here's the general lay of the land, 14 epsilon crater is marked and a little left of centre. If you like I can put up a bigger map from flickr but that will make the page wider and make it awkward to read posts. Maybe Joe, download it and mark up the image.

Thanks for the map! It's excellent. The 7th & 8th mag stars I mention are visible on it. Simply go 0.7 deg N from their midpoint.

To: Joan Genebriera, Tacande Observatory, Canary Islands
From: Joseph C. Keller, M. D.
Re: search for planet Barbarossa, your second photo made 49 hr ago.

Congratulations, you found it!

Two or three bodies forming a line roughly parallel to the ecliptic (i.e., also to Barbarossa's presumed orbit) spread over about 6", of summed magnitude (by comparison with nearby USNO-B catalog stars) +18 to 18.5, are found in the lower right corner near

RA 11h 26m 22.2s Decl -09deg 04' 59"

This object is not in the USNO-B catalog. Nearby cataloged objects include

USNO-B 0809-0228748
USNO-B 0809-0228758
USNO-B 0809-0228763
USNO-B 0809-0228757.

It does not appear on the Aladin Optical Red, Optical Blue, nor Optical Infrared images. I note that the exposure was short. The presence of two or three points of light aligned with the ecliptic, argues against an asteroid or detection artifact.

The object is 30s W of its estimated RA (correcting for Earth parallax) which corresponds to a 2800 yr period for circular orbit. It is 2.4' ecliptic latitude S of its predicted track (by the second prediction method, i.e., that by which this photo was directed).

Sincerely,
Joseph C. Keller, M. D.
March 26, 2007

>From: Joan Genebriera <PLEIADES@telefonica.net>
>To: josephkeller100@hotmail.com
>Subject: New planet ?
>Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2007 15:33:47 +0100
...

Joan Genebriera is an amateur astronomer from Barcelona, Spain, now working in the Canary Is. The photo was taken with a 16" Cassegrain telescope from 2500ft elevation at 29deg N latitude. The low elevation and equatorial latitude argue against a cosmic ray artifact, though presumably electronic sensors, not photographic film, were used.