I can't attach the files mentioned below, but I may be able to send them, if
you request them from me (but will be leaving home in less than an hour). We
may be able to post them on a Web site; if so, and if I can, I'll send the
link. _ _ _
Near Tonopah, on S. 339 th Ave. (also called Hassayampa Rd.), the graze will
occur from 8:42 to 8:47 pm MST, and essentially the same time over Surprise,
and a minute later over Carefree. This is a grazing occultation of 4.6-mag. 33
Piscium = ZC 5 against the dark edge of the 39% sunlit Moon, 11 deg. from the
southern cusp. The Moon will be 34 deg. above the s.w. horizon, azimuth 235
deg. According to the detailed LRO lunar profile, attached, there is a
âbestâ zone that is 0.33 km to 0.57 km south of the elevation-corrected
southern limit line (calculated with a spherical Moon). I attach a map of the
path, between the two dark gray lines, over S. 339 th Ave. and showing I-10
(the exit to S. 339 th Ave., and also a map showing the path across the western
and northern Phoenix area, to Carefree. I also attach a Google Map Web page
(.htm) file; if you put that in your browser, you can zoom in on any part of
the path. For the narrow âbestâ range, use offset numbers of 0.33 and 0.57
(positive values are south of the green elevation-corrected s. limit line), but
thereâs a wider range, with offsets from +3.2 (km south) to -2.7 (km north),
where at least 2 occultations of the star should occur, and probably 3 or more.
So if you live in, or can travel to, that zone with a small telescope, youâll
be able to see the show, if the clouds clear away, which they are expected to
do, at least in the western part of the path. We plan to try to observe the
graze from S. 339 th Ave., in the âbestâ zone where 5 or more occultations
of the star are expected over a period of 4 minutes. The graze zone is in a
non-descript part of the road (which has shoulders wide enough to park about
anywhere; there is a dirt road to the east at the north end of the zone) but if
you want to join the effort there, just drive a mile south from the I-10 exit
and youâll find our white Toyota RAV4 somewhere in the âbestâ zone;
itâs also about 200m north of S. 343 rd Ave. Since itâs a southern limit,
no occultation will occur more than 3.4 km south of the green southern limit
line, while a total occultation will be visible everywhere (in AZ and Calif.)
more than 3 km north of the line.
David Dunham, 301-526-5590
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