Asteroid Occultations!

[Scott Harrington]

So, this morning I finally got to see my first asteroid occultation (where you briefly stand in the shadow of an asteroid cast by a distant star). In my case, I drove about 20 miles and got to see magnitude +14.3 (830) Petropolitana pass in front of a star 2,100 light-years away in Aquarius. This 44km outer main-belt asteroid cast a 55km wide shadow at 4:40:41am local time. I watched in my 6-inch reflector at 112x with rapt awe as the magnitude +10.1 star seemed to disappear for almost five seconds.

Unbelievable experience. If anyone would like help getting to experience the same, please reach out and I can show you the ropes!

Scott H.