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47802
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Rare Occultation of Betelgeuse by Asteroid Leona on December 12th
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EXTREMELY RARE OCCULTATION OF BETELGEUSE: For years, astronomers have worried that Betelgeuse might explode. Next week, it's going to disappear instead. On Dec. 12th (universal time), main belt asteroid Leona will pass directly in front of Betelgeuse, a first-magnitude star in the shoulder of Orion. Millions of people in a narrow path stretching from South Florida to Europe can look up and see Betelgeuse dim or even vanish.  "This represents an extraordinary and unique opportunity to analyze the diameter and brightness distribution of Betelgeuse with extreme angular resolution," says astronomer J. L. Ortiz of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, lead author of a newly-released preprint about the occultation. Betelgeuse is not a typical star. Its diameter is 760 times the sun's, so it appears as a disk 50 milliarcseconds across, much larger than most other stars. High resolution images of Betelgeuse seem to reveal a star in turmoil with giant convection cells bubbling up to the surface. The passage of the asteroid across Betelgeuse may allow astronomers to map these cells and evaluate their role in a possible future supernova explosion.  Images of Betelgeuse taken by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Much is unknown about this occultation. The shape of the asteroid itself is an X-factor. Ortiz and colleagues watched the asteroid occult another star in September 2023 from 17 different locations on Earth. They found that Leona has an oblong shape with dimensions 80 x 55 km, whereas most predictions of the occultation assume the asteroid to be spherical. Leona's odd shape, plus the fact that it is rotating, could produce some surprises. The occultation path may be wider than expected, and there could be interesting "partial eclipse" effects visible even near the center of the path. There are huge population centers in the occultation path, especially in south Florida where Leona's shadow crosses Miami and Fort Lauderdale. For observers there, Betelgeuse will wink out for about 10 seconds on the evening of Dec. 11th at approximately 8:25 pm Eastern Standard Time. Amateur astronomers who wish to collect research quality light curves are encouraged to read these observing tips from the International Occultation Timing Association. There is also an excellent Google Earth file showing the detailed path and times to look. |
47810
From: sher, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Rare Occultation of Betelgeuse by Asteroid Leona on December 12th
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When I saw this I immediately thought of this dream of mr. bopps fromDec 2009. Date: December 27, 2009 at 09:13:24 From: mr bopp Subject: something by orion I was looking at the stars and saw a bright yellow-orange splotch by the constellation of orion, on the left side between the belt and the shoulder...it seemed relatively close... |
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[47811]
47811
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Rare Occultation of Betelgeuse by Asteroid Leona on December 12th
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hmm....interesting. |
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47806
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Rare Occultation of Betelgeuse by Asteroid Leona on December 12th
| just came to post this..amazing they can calculate something like this... |
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[47808]
47808
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Rare Occultation of Betelgeuse by Asteroid Leona on December 12th
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Yes, amazing it is. |
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47803
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Rare Occultation of Betelgeuse by Asteroid Leona on December 12th
URL: https://cloud.occultwatcher.net/event/1075-319-83995-648466-H27989/Horizons;Preston;1246616
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interactive map to occultation path link: https://cloud.occultwatcher.net/event/1075-319-83995-648466-H27989/Horizons;Preston;1246616 |
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