[LVAS] Fwd: Spread word about the Apr. 5/6 brightest asteroidal occ'n ever predicted for N. America

Mon Mar 29 16:16:38 PDT 2010

Just received this notice about a bright star (mag 2.5) occultation 
by an asteroid (mag 14.7) at 3:21 am PDT on the morning of Tuesday 
April 6.  This will be a NAKED EYE event - You'll be able to see this 
2nd magnitude star vanish for several seconds.

I'm still analysing this, to figure out where I plan to go 
watch.  Here 
(http://www.poyntsource.com/New/Google/20100406_20757.HTM) is an 
interactive google map of the path.  The green line is the 
center.  Here 
(http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2010_04/0406_824_20757.htm) is 
additional info.

>X-Auth-ID: dunham
>X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 7.1.0.9
>Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:57:05 -0400
>To: EBE918 at aol.com
>From: David Dunham <dunham at starpower.net>
>Subject: Spread word about the Apr. 5/6 brightest asteroidal occ'n ever
>   predicted for N. America
>X-Junkmail-Whitelist: YES (by domain whitelist at mr02.lnh.mail.rcn.net)
>
>I attach maps & sky charts for this event for Nevada;
>see the Web site mentioned below for explanations.
>_______________________________________
>
>      The occultation of Zeta Ophiuchi by (824) Anastasia on Monday
>night/early Tuesday morning, April 5/6, is the brightest asteroidal
>occultation ever predicted for North America involving an asteroid
>this large.  This is a naked-eye event that could be seen by many
>thousands in and near the predicted path.  The International
>Occultation Timing Asssociation (IOTA) encourages as many as
>possible to try to see and time this occultation, to obtain as
>detailed an outline of the asteroid as possible, to accurately
>measure its size and shape. Not just amateur astronomers, but anyone
>with the most rudimentary knowledge of the sky, can find the 2.5-
>mag. star with simple full-sky charts that I've prepared and that
>Brad Timerson has placed on a Web page about this event at
>http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/observations/NA/Anastasia/ .
>Also on that Web site is information about how the occultation can
>be timed with simple techniques, ranging from just watching and
>counting to video recording the event with camcorders.
>
>      Those in the region of possible visibility, extending from
>southern California to Alberta, are encouraged to pass this
>information on to their friends, and especially to distribute it on
>astronomical society list servers so that nearly everyone in
>organized astronomy clubs throughout the region can learn of this
>rare event.  Hopefully, information about this will be distributed
>by local media, at least in the form of short messages, like the
>first paragraph above pointing to the Web site where detailed
>information is available.  For general consumption, I've used the
>more familiar "eclipse" rather than "occultation" in most places on
>the Web site, but do explain that "occultation" is the astronomical
>term used for the phenomenon.
>
>      I give parts of the information on the Web site below; you are
>encouraged to visit it yourself to learn details of the event and
>how it might be observed.  The full-sky charts were produced on the
>http://www.heavens-above.com Web site and edited to emphasize the
>information needed for this event.  At the end of this message, I
>give a short paragraph that you might use to send to your friends
>and even local media, to encourage others to visit the Web site and
>try to observe this unique event.
>_________________
>
>Some of the information from the Web site:
>
>The eclipse of the star Zeta Ophiuchi will last up to 8 seconds in a
>25-mile-wide path from the Los Angeles area to Edmonton, Alberta
>
>ANYONE in the path can help accurately measure the size and shape of
>the asteroid by making simple observations of the eclipse
>
>The International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) seeks as
>many observations of the eclipse as possible
>
>Seeing a star suddenly vanish, then abruptly reappear several
>seconds later when a faint asteroid passes in front of it, is a
>startling sight that will always be remembered.  Millions of people
>will have a chance to see such an event before sunrise early Tuesday
>morning, April 6th.
>
>Anyone who can see and count, lives in or near the eclipse path, and
>is willing to get up in the middle of the night and go outside for
>about ten minutes, can help us measure the size and shape of the
>asteroid 824 Anastasia, if the sky is clear.  We want as many as
>possible to try to observe the eclipse since the detail of
>Anastasia's shape that we can derive is proportional to the number
>of places from which the eclipse is observed.  Opportunities to see
>eclipses of bright naked-eye stars by asteroids are rare; this is
>the brightest star to be eclipsed by an asteroid of this size or
>larger that has ever been predicted for North America.  During a
>similar event in China in 1991, 3000 tried to see the eclipse, but
>only 4 of them actually saw it, since the predictions then could
>only predict the eclipse path's location to about 30 path-widths,
>and the actual path was a little farther from the predicted one than
>expected.  Since then, thanks primarily to the European Space
>Agency's star-position-measuring spacecraft HIPPARCOS, our
>predictions have greatly improved; for the Anastasia eclipse, we
>expect the error to be about 5 path-widths.
>
>You don't have to be an amateur astronomer to contribute; the charts
>on this Web site will allow anyone with only a rudimentary knowledge
>of the sky to find the star, Zeta Ophiuchi.  It is bright enough to
>see with the naked eye; you don't even need binoculars, although if
>steadily held, such as against a fence post, they would give a
>better view. The star is bright enough to record with many
>camcorders, especially those with "night" modes. Very accurate
>observations can be made with such camcorders so if you have one,
>you are encouraged to use it to record the eclipse.  Time accurate
>enough for this event can be obtained from http://www.time.gov .
>Basically, try to time the eclipse with whatever resources you have,
>even if that's just your eyes and ability to count.
>
>Results from observations that we receive will be posted on IOTA's
>asteroidal occultation results Web site at
>http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/observations/Results/index.html .
>A good example of results of another occultation, of the star HIP
>13021 by the asteroid 135 Hertha that was observed on December 11,
>2008, by observers in the path from Oklahoma to southern California,
>are shown at
>http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/observations/Results/Data2008/HerthaProfileNEWcolor.jpg 
>.
>The figure projects the observed occultation timings onto the plane
>of the sky at the asteroid, thus revealing the dimensions and
>peanut-shape of 135 Hertha.  Small telescopes were needed to see HIP
>13021 since it was about 200 times fainter than Zeta Ophiuchi.
>
>We look forward to adding your observation to the outline of
>Anastasia that we hope to obtain following the April 6th eclipse.
>_____________________________
>
>A short version suitable for non-astronomers and the media; in the
>first sentence, you might replace "a path extending from the Los
>Angeles area to Edmonton, Alberta" with "our area":
>
>      Late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, April 5/6, anyone in
>a path extending from the Los Angeles area to Edmonton, Alberta has
>a chance to see a naked-eye star suddenly vanish, then abruptly
>reappear several seconds later as the asteroid 824 Anastasia passes
>in front of it.  The International Occultation Timing Association
>(IOTA) wants as many as possible to watch this eclipse, timing its
>length simply by counting, or perhaps video recording it with a
>camcorder.  Anyone with the most rudimentary knowledge of the sky,
>not just amateur astronomers, can help with this project to map the
>outline of Anastasia; the detail of the shape that we can measure is
>proportional to the number of locations from which it can be
>observed.  Descriptions and simple full-sky charts, on a Web page
>about this event at
>http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/observations/NA/Anastasia/ ,
>show how, starting from the rising last quarter Moon, you can easily
>locate Zeta Ophiuchi, the star that will be eclipsed.
>_____________________________
>
>David Dunham, March 29, 2010
>President, International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA)
>Greenbelt, Maryland
>Phones home 301-220-0415; cell 301-526-5590
>office e-mail david.dunham at kinetx.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
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