Starwatch: be like the ‘celestial police’ and find asteroid Vesta in the sky

Second largest asteroid was discovered by four German astronomers in 1807 while looking for a missing planet

This week is a challenge. You will need a pair of binoculars but the prize is to see the asteroid Vesta as it makes its closest pass of the year to Earth.

The chart shows the view looking south from London at 0200 BST on 23 August. Vesta will be 192.26m kms away. In theory, it will just be visible to the naked eye but it will be incredibly difficult to see unless you are viewing under perfect conditions in a dark sky without any light pollution. Preferably, you would also be located farther south than London, so that Vesta appears higher in the sky.