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

["Bill Peters" <afls@xxxxxxx>]

Randy,

I'm going to try for it.

Bill Peters 480-813-4242,813-0607

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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