The asteroid Pallas reaches its stationary point in Aquila the Eagle, near the bright star Altair. It now ends its retrograde path and begins moving prograde once more.
Asteroid 2 Pallas comes to an apparent standstill in the sky in Aquila tonight. You can find the main-belt world a few degrees southeast of Altair. Credit: Stellarium
- Asteroid 2 Pallas, at 10th magnitude, exhibited a stationary position at 7:00 A.M. EDT within the constellation Aquila.
- Pallas’s location was approximately 6.5° southeast of Altair, Aquila’s brightest star (magnitude 0.8), within a single binocular field of view.
- Pallas was observed in close proximity (5′) to a similarly bright field star, situated to the west; it was predicted to resume prograde motion, moving south and slightly east.
- Relevant astronomical data for a specific location (40° N 90° W) included sunrise/sunset times of 6:51 A.M./6:51 P.M. EDT, and moonrise/moonset times of 10:41 A.M./8:23 P.M. EDT with a 14% waxing crescent phase.
Asteroid 2 Pallas is stationary at 7 A.M. EDT in the constellation Aquila. At 10th magnitude, this space rock is a bit of a challenge, but should be visible through amateur scopes.
Aquila itself is hard to miss — its brightest star, magnitude 0.8 Altair, anchors one point of the huge Summer Triangle asterism and dominates northeastern Aquila. Pallas is not far from this star, about 6.5° (one binocular field) to its southeast.
Note that the main-belt world is just 5’ from a field star of similar brightness. If you spot the two points of light together in your optics, Pallas is the easternmost object of the two. Previously moving westward, or retrograde, against the background stars, Pallas will now make a turn back toward the east, resuming prograde motion. If you come back over the next few nights, you’ll see Pallas pull away from the background star, moving south and slightly east as it makes a slow, shallow turnaround in the sky.
Sunrise: 6:51 A.M.
Sunset: 6:51 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:41 A.M.
Moonset: 8:23 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (14%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
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