FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Asteroid Occultation

["Randy Peterson" <rgpeterson@xxxxxxx>]

An occultation by the asteroid 409 Aspasia is predicted to pass over the 
Phoenix area next Sunday night (the 22nd) at approximately 7:16 pm MST.  The 
star to be occulted is 11.0 magnitude, the asteroid is 161km wide, and the 
duration of the occultation is up to a lengthy 29 seconds. 
The good news is we can set up to watch this event from our respective 
backyards to get good coverage of the area.  The star is bright enough to be 
readily seen in most amateur telescopes ~ 6" or larger.  I plan to try to 
record this event onto a VCR tape with a PC164C camera and my 10" SCT.

The down-side is that the magnitude drop is only 1.0, so close attention will 
be required to notice the relatively small drop in brightness as the asteroid 
passes in front of the star.

Check out the event at Steve Preston's web site:

http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2004_02/0223_409_1643.htm

It appears that the center of the path will pass close to the intersection of 
Queen Creek Road and Price and go through South Mountain Park.  The northern 
part of the path will be north of Fountain Hills at about Sunflower, and the 
southern edge of the path will go through the Tucson area, south of Casa Grande 
and south of Vekol.  The "shadow" of the asteroid should encompass pretty much 
the entire Phoenix metro area.  Plenty of asteroid to go around!

I have to work that day, so it'll be very close timing for me to get off work, 
drive to a spot to observe from, and get set up in time to record the 
occultation by 19:16 MST.  If you plan to try to observe and record this event, 
I would like to hear from you.

Randy Peterson
IOTA / EVAC
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