Lunar Occultation Highlights for 1997

HE NIGHT SKY contains many

wonders, but most of them are
static displays. In contrast, lunar
occultations, especially grazing ones, are
dynamic phenomena that provide a startling demonstration of orbital motion. If
you want to get full value from your
telescope, make room in your schedule
to watch some of these remarkable
events. Even more satisfying is timing
them, a simple process that most observers can do.
An occultation takes place when the
Moons edge creeps up to a star and

The brightest objects to be

occulted in 1997 are
Aldebaran the brightest
star the Moon can ever
cover and Saturn.
Some of their occultations
can be seen with binoculars or even the naked eye.
suddenly snuffs it out. The star reappears just as suddenly on the Moons
opposite side up to an hour or more
later. When the Moon is in its waxing
phases, the disappearance usually happens on the Moons dark edge, where
its easy to watch; reappearances are on
the bright limb, where the star is harder
to see. When the Moon is waning, the
situation is opposite: stars vanish on the
bright limb and reappear from behind
the dark one. In either case reappearances take more planning to watch, because you need to be looking at the correct place on the Moons limb at the
moment the star pops back into view.
The brightest objects to be occulted in
1997 are Aldebaran the brightest star
the Moon can ever cover and Saturn.
Some of their occultations can be seen
with binoculars or even the naked eye.
The tables and maps here describe these
and other outstanding events for the
coming year.
Occultations timed to an accuracy of
a few tenths of a second still have various scientific uses, particularly in refining our knowledge of lunar topography
(S&T: November 1988, page 480). But
once the laser altimeter data from the
1992 Clementine mission to the Moon
are properly analyzed, photoelectric and
video timings accurate to a few hun-

Spica grazing the Moons north polar region (upper left). We observed the occultation
of Spica early in the morning of November 30, 1994, from central Tokyo, writes photographer Motomaru Shirao. The appearance of Spica was very beautiful, because the
Moon was thin and the earthshine was obvious. Spicas icy blue-white color contrasted with the Moons yellowish white. This year the Moon will occult orange Aldebaran
several times for North America.

dredths of a second will be in many cases

the only amateur timings still on the
cutting edge.
If you time only a few events, I recommend using the U.S. Naval Observatorys master clock; its time signals are
accessible by calling 900-410-8463. Alternatively, if you have a shortwave
radio, you can use time signals from
WWV (which broadcasts at 2.5, 5, 10,
15, and 20 MHz) or CHU (3.330, 7.335,
and 14.670 MHz). Timing tips are in the
September 1990 issue, page 288.
You can get an accurate video timing
by running a camcorder continuously to
record the time signals before and after
the occultation (or perhaps during it if
you use a portable phone). You can aim
the camcorder down a telescopes eyepiece to record the event. This should be
easy with some of the Aldebaran occultations. Even for purely visual events, a

camcorder can be used to record just

audio your voice calling out on top of
time signals if you dont have a tape
recorder.
A grazing occultation happens when
the Moon skims just past a star. Within
a mile or two of the edge of an occultations predicted path, termed its northern or southern limit, you might see the
star wink off and on several times as it
passes behind hills and valleys near the
Moons poles. Observers spaced across
this graze zone will time different sequences of events, which can be analyzed to map the lunar limb profile.
Such timings remain important because
the Clementine laser could not map the
lunar polar regions. And they are easy
to make just call out the successive
disappearances and reappearances to a
camcorder or tape recorder while time
signals are being recorded simultane-

1996 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

January 1997 Sky & Telescope

89

Ed

Ta

9
ct. 1

:40

De

A
S

ib

A
Apr.

40

2:10

ib

49 L
ct. 6

3:

30

3:20

C7

Apr

n.

. 12

B
50

115

Ge

Tau

0 4:10
3:5
0

4:4

23:30

50

1
v. 1

0
5:0

23:
. 13

Dec

40

14

.
un

28

0
:4
11
Grazing occultation occurs on Moons dark limb at night.
On bright or dark limb in daytime.

ously in the background. The time base

can even be a regular radio broadcast
from a car radio, if someone else records
the broadcast on top of WWV or CHU.
Grazes are the most dynamic, interesting, and valuable lunar occultations.
For most of them, unfortunately, we receive data from only one or two observers. Many more are needed to properly map the lunar profile as presented
to Earth, which is never exactly the
same from one day to the next.
The years best grazes are shown on
the map. Most require a telescope. But
firmly mounted binoculars might suffice
for those on April 11th, December 7th,
and December 26th, and for all the nighttime grazes of Aldebaran and Saturn.
About two dozen grazes each year
are visible in a 6-inch telescope within
100 miles of a given location. Some are
observed by organized groups of amateurs spaced a few hundred yards apart
in a line; newcomers are especially welcome on these expeditions. Contact the

6:00

5:40

0
0
:0
0:5
12Oct.
29
qr

c.

De

Feb. 3,
Feb. 4,
Mar. 3,
Mar. 30,
Sept. 10,
Sept. 11,
Oct. 8,
Nov. 5,

90

15h
14h
15h
6h
7h
9h
6h
3h

Diam. % Sunlit

7.3
4.6
6.9
7.3
7.3
4.6
6.9
6.5

2.4'
4'
25'
2.4'
2.4'
4'
25'
40'

Sky & Telescope January 1997

21
13
37
67
52+
64+
37+
21+

4:00

Tau

Mi 11:00 S

On bright limb at night.

Saturn will be occulted five times this

year: on May 4th (in the daytime when
the Moon is a 7 percent sunlit waning
crescent), June 28th (just past last quarter, a daylight event in the U.S. but before dawn for parts of Europe and
Asia), September 18th (just after full
Moon), November 1112 (nearly full
Moon), and December 9th (waxing gibbous). See the map and table for regions
of visibility.
The map shows the northern and
southern limits for the center of Saturn.
Within bands about 30 miles wide centered on these lines, Saturn will be partially but never completely covered.

Mag.

1:1

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR 1997

M9
M24
M23
M9
M9
M24
M23
M25

n
tur
Sa
0
4
:
12

ir

International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) at the address given at

the end of this article. Detailed computer predictions of any graze are available
from IOTA for $1.50 each. An IOTA
manual ($5) describes the use of the
predictions.

Cluster

44 V

OCCULTATIONS OF STAR CLUSTERS

UT Date, Time

y
Ma

On this map an occultation

can be seen north of a red
line or south of a blue one. A
grazing occultation occurs
along each line; tick marks at
10-minute intervals (west to
east) indicate the Universal
Time of the middle of the
graze. Any circled A means
the event is visible but the
Moons altitude in the sky is
too low for reliable timings,
S means twilight is too
strong, and B marks where
the star grazes too close to
the Moons bright limb. Data
by Eberhard Riedel and
David Dunham.

38 Ari

No

eo

26

0
5:4

rn
tu
n
Sa
tur
:10 Sa
24
0
5:2

At

3:20
Au

:3

24

Jan. 17

13

3:

22
p.
Se
0
:
74

Ma

Wa

Ju

9:00

Ta
A

11:40

Mo

To

0:4

8:2

18 Aqr

Oc

0:30

0
8:0

41

NM

11:10
Ch

Ka

July 23
Aqr
A 2:1
9
5
86

t. 1

S 11:30

2:00
LA

Saturn

ZC

8
Sep. 1

:00

1:50

1 Ta

:40
6:40

17

De

14

au

17:5

11:00

17

:10 S r. 14
Ma

:50

10

9:5

Ma
r.
5:2 17
0

10:

Wi

7:50

5:00

NC

1:40
Apr.
11

Saturn

Dec. 9
13
c. 2 :50
7
Tau
S
75 g. 25
Au
0
0
:
13

6:3

. 24
Sep Gem
A 26
6:20

Tau

6:00
Jan. 19

8
Va

au

9:00

O
17:30

Aug. 25

Duration

Area of visibility

6m
12m
60m
6m
8m
25m
90m
90m

Hawaii
Hawaii (low)
Hawaii
E. U.S. (low), E. Canada
Hawaii, Alaska (low)
Hawaii
Hawaii
W. U.S., W. Canada

1996 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

Aldebaran. The Moon will cover 1.1magnitude Alpha Tauri on nine dates:
January 19th (when the Moon is waxing
gibbous), February 15th (a little past first
quarter), March 14th in the daytime (just
before first quarter), April 11th (a waxing, 17 percent sunlit crescent and likely
the best naked-eye occultation of 1997),
May 8th (extremely thin crescent close
to the Sun, low in daylight), July 29th
(waning crescent, during day in the eastern U.S. and night in the West), August
25th (last quarter, during daytime except
in Hawaii), October 19th (waning gibbous), and December 13th (full Moon).
See the table and map for locations.
Aldebaran has a very large apparent
diameter for a star, 0.03 arcsecond.
Therefore observers near a graze line
can see it disappear gradually. The darklimb graze on July 29th (which crosses
the Salt Lake City area) will be spectacular and even visible without optical aid
if some of the Moons sunlit part can be
blocked by a building or an outstretched
finger.
The Hyades. Several occultations of
bright stars take place a few hours before the Aldebaran events as the Moon
moves along the southern arm of the
Hyades V pattern.
Other clusters. The Moon will also
cross some smaller, more compact open
clusters, as well as the globular cluster
M9. These are listed in the table at left.
The table gives the clusters total magnitude and diameter in arcminutes, the
Moons phase waxing (+) or waning ()
and the approximate duration in min-

LUNAR OCCULTATIONS OF STARS

UT Date
Jan. 19

Star
Tau

Jan. 25
Mar. 14

Leo
Tau

Apr. 1
Apr. 11
Apr. 11

1 Sgr
ZC 677
Tau

Apr. 14
Apr. 17
May 4

Gem
Leo
Saturn

May

Tau

July
July
July
July

29
29
29
29

2 Tau
1 Tau
ZC 677
Tau

Aug. 25
Aug. 25

Tau
Tau

Sept. 18

Saturn

Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.

Tau
2 Tau
1 Tau
ZC 677
Tau

Mag. Ha
Ma
Mo
Wa
To
Mi
At
1.1 6:33
6:33
7:08
7:02
3.8 9:52 9:46 9:41 9:40 9:34
1.1 17:15 17:08 17:16 17:00 17:12 16:39 16:51
18:16 18:03 18:04 17:56 17:57 17:39 17:46
4.0
9:56 9:53 9:40 9:41
4.8
2:24 2:20 2:32 2:23
2:50
1.1
3.7
3.8 4:29
0.8 15:36
16:19
1.1 12:01
12:56
3.6 6:54
4.0 6:56
4.8 7:55
1.1 9:49
11:01
3.9
1.1

4:29
15:18
16:07
11:59
12:50
6:51
6:53
7:48
9:37
10:44
9:21

4:21
15:12
16:12
12:05
12:53
6:57
6:57
7:50
9:44
10:43
9:25

4:37 4:22
15:11 15:01
15:52 16:03

5:04
14:57
15:28

12:46 12:50
6:46 6:55
6:48 6:55
7:42 7:46 7:28 7:36
9:26 9:37 9:03
9:12
10:34 10:33 10:12 10:19
9:07 9:14
8:46
17:45
17:43 17:39

Nov. 13
Dec. 76
Dec. 9

1 Cet
Aqr
Saturn

0.3 11:16 11:04

10:57 11:05 10:53 10:49
11:23 11:34
11:42 11:26 11:53 11:47
3.9 1:42 1:38 1:41 1:33 1:39
3.6 5:53 5:39 5:49 5:18 5:39
4.0 6:09 5:53 5:58 5:39 5:48
5:18
4.8 7:32 7:15 7:15 7:03 7:04 6:19 6:41
1.1 9:27 9:13 9:12 9:05 9:01 9:16
8:51
10:32 10:27 10:21 10:24 10:16 10:08 10:12
0.4 0:35
23:24 23:51
0:53
0:23 0:10
4.5
9:27 9:22 9:36 9:25
3.8 0:46 0:34 0:30 0:29 0:21
0:16
0.6

Dec. 13

Tau

1.1

Dec. 19
Dec. 22
Dec. 26

ZC 1486
Vir
Lib

4.6
4.0
4.0

19
19
19
19
19

Nov.1211 Saturn

5:33
6:44
6:14
9:54

5:20
6:34
9:45
6:05
9:52

5:16
6:32
6:09
9:51

5:16
6:26
9:59
5:57
9:49

5:07
5:10
6:24
6:02
9:39 10:23 10:01

Ch

Ka

9:13
17:10
17:49
9:42
2:27

17:06
17:44
9:32
2:36

Wi
6:10
6:40
8:56

9:39
2:09

Au

17:39
9:18

De

NM

Ed
5:37
6:25
8:24

LA

NC

VA

9:24
2:34

4:35 4:53 4:47 4:34

5:17
5:44 5:29
6:12 5:52 6:06 5:21 6:10 5:55 5:24
3:28
14:18 14:13 14:01 14:29 13:51 13:55 14:15
15:09 15:24 15:08 15:32 14:57 15:00 15:16

5:47
4:23
14:43
15:50

5:53 5:34
4:42 3:52
14:28 14:37
15:36 15:49

7:42
9:30
10:20
9:02
17:41
18:10
10:56
11:28

9:23
9:04 9:30 9:16
10:11
10:02 9:59 9:57
9:52
8:50 9:05 8:30 8:44 8:33 8:57 8:31 8:36 8:48
17:34 11:21 17:34 17:24 17:21 11:19 17:09 17:01 17:08
18:21
18:36 18:20 18:29
18:23 18:14 17:44
10:46
10:33 10:40 10:22
10:13
11:31
11:40 11:14 11:21
11:02

5:28
5:35
6:48
8:45
10:04

9:27
0:07

4:51
6:09
9:38

5:17
5:24
6:34
8:29
9:52

5:40
5:40
6:39
8:43
9:37

9:33 9:06
23:52 23:58
7:32
4:37
5:54
9:33

4:40
5:54
8:59

4:45
5:03
6:16
8:18
9:39

5:16
5:19
6:22
8:12
9:31

5:02
5:08
6:11
7:57
9:19

9:21
7:32
4:39
5:23
9:34

7:30
8:18
4:17
5:35
9:14

5:37
5:34
6:16

5:03
5:06
6:03
7:44
9:00

8:48
23:46
7:26
8:25
4:06
5:18
9:09

4:30
5:28

7:19
8:21
3:51
5:04
8:54

5:11
5:11
6:04
7:48
8:55

5:28
5:24
6:05
8:26
8:43

9:00

8:39

7:18
8:14
3:52
5:04
8:50

4:13
5:12
8:42

9:33

Ha, Halifax; Ma, central Massachusetts; Mo, Montreal; Wa, Washington, DC; To, Toronto; Mi, Miami; At, Atlanta; Ch, Chicago; Ka, Kansas City; Wi, Winnipeg; Au, Austin;
De, Denver; NM, New MexicoArizona; Ed, Edmonton; LA, Los Angeles; NC, northern California; Va, Vancouver. All but Halifax are on the map.

utes for the Moons edge to cover the

object. These will be best seen with
moderate to large telescopes.
Solar eclipse. The most spectacular
lunar occultation is a total eclipse of the
Sun. A few IOTA members plan to observe the March 9th eclipse in Siberia
and Mongolia from just inside the path
of totality to measure the Suns diameter. For details contact Paul Maley at 713480-9878 or pmaley@gp808.jsc.nasa.gov.
Lunar eclipse. The Moon will cover
some 9th-magnitude stars during its notquite-total eclipse on the night of March
2324. The southern limits for two occultations pass near Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, El
Paso, and San Antonio.
Double stars. Stars with separations
as small as 0.02" have been discovered
visually by their stepwise occultations;

grazes give the best resolution. Especially important are binaries in the Hyades,
whose color-magnitude diagram is a
standard for calibrating interstellar distance scales. The close 8th-magnitude
companion of Theta1 Tauri was discovered by Robert Hayes during an occultation on February 17, 1978. Another
Hyades star with a close 8th-magnitude
secondary is 75 Tauri. More observations are also needed to confirm the
close duplicity, inferred from previous
events, of 115 Tauri, 26 Geminorum, 44
Virginis, Gamma Librae, and ZC 741.
Stellar angular diameters. The effect
of Aldebarans 30-milliarcsecond disk
should be apparent to the eye during
grazes. High-speed photometry will be
needed to resolve the 3.7-magnitude red
star Lambda Aquarii, which is only a few
milliarcseconds in apparent diameter.
1996 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Detailed predictions for the 17 standard stations in the table above, as well
as for Honolulu, are given in the Observers Handbook of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC).*
About 15 occultations of stars as faint as
5th magnitude are listed for each location. The handbook also has graze maps
for 177 occultations of stars to magnitude 7.5 for the U.S., Canada, and northern Mexico.
Kent Okasaki will compute occultation predictions to 8th magnitude for any
Available from Sky Publishing Corp. for
$17.95. For an offprint of the occultation supplement alone, send $3 and a long, self-addressed, unstamped envelope to the RASC,
136 Dupont St., Toronto, Ont. M5R 1V2,
Canada.

January 1997 Sky & Telescope

91

A crescent Moon occulting a crescent

Venus; note their great difference in surface brightness. Photograph by Akira Fujii.

Advertisement

location in North America if you send

your accurate latitude, longitude, and altitude, along with either an e-mail address or a long, self-addressed, stamped
envelope. Contact Okasaki at 5255 Stevens Creek Blvd. #236, Santa Clara, CA
95051; e-mail: 73112.3157@compuserve.
com. Similar predictions for Europe are
available from Hans-Joachim Bode, Bartold-Knaust-Strasse 8, D-30459 Hannover, Germany. You can compute your
own detailed predictions for any year
using David Heralds Occult program,
distributed by Okasaki by e-mail or on
three IBM-PC diskettes for $12 ($6 for
IOTA members; overseas add $3; checks
from nonU.S. banks add $5).
The International Lunar Occultation
Centre in Japan prepared the predictions for the Observers Handbook and
the table on page 91. It collects and analyzes timings; you can obtain the necessary report forms and instructions by
sending either Okasaki or the undersigned a long, self-addressed, stamped
envelope, or ask for them by e-mail.
Annual membership in IOTA costs
$30 in North America ($35 overseas)
and includes free graze predictions for
stars brighter than 9th magnitude, local
circumstances for the approaches of asteroids to stars, descriptive materials,
and a subscription to the Occultation
Newsletter (available separately for $20,
more overseas). More about IOTA, including detailed predictions for some of
the better occultations and grazes, is
posted at http://www.sky.net/~robinson/
iotandx.htm on the World Wide Web.
DAVID W. DUNHAM, IOTA
2760 SW Jewell Ave.
Topeka, KS 66611-1614
david.dunham@jhuapl.edu

92

Sky & Telescope January 1997

1996 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.