Observing Near Earth Asteroids with a Small Telescope

Abstract

Even from a light polluted city it is possible to observe Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) at opposition using a small telescope equipped with a CCD camera. In this paper, we will overview first the major NEA programs, continuing with planning the observations and the data reduction. Second, we will present a NEA follow-up program carried out on the 60-cm telescope at York University Observatory in Toronto, Canada. Part of this program, five NEAs have been observed during ten nights. Their astrometric and photometric data were reduced and sent to the Minor Planet Centre, following which an observatory code was assigned and four batches have been included in the NEODyS database and MPC Circulars. The results are applicable to any other small facility.