Time-series photometry of 2012 DA14

It had approached closely the Earth on 15 February 2013 UT, providing an opportunity for precise measurements of this tiny asteroid. The solar phase angle of 2012 DA14 had varied widely around its closest approach but was almost constant during the following night.

We performed time-series photometric observations on those two nights to determine the rotational properties and phase effect. The observations were carried out using the 0.55-m telescope at Saitama University, Japan. The R-band images were obtained continuously over a 2h period at the closest approach and for about 5h on the next night.