The list shows occultations of possible double stars during January. Although the main emphasis remains on stars with separations < 2", now that the more detailed lunar limb profile from LOLA is available, some wider pairs are included. Doubles predicted to be occulted by the Moon during January 2018 and visible from parts of Australia or New Zealand are included. The listing is a very abbreviated version of predictions produced by Occult plus an indication of the region of visibility. Observers need to generate their own precise predictions using Occult.

The list below is generated by OCCULT for a 25cm telescope. Some of the events could be beyond the reach of smaller telescopes. Observations of all pairs in the list are highly desirable. Those showing an OCc number have been reported as non-instantaneous at a lunar occultation. Confirmation or otherwise of any double nature is wanted.

*** Kepler stars: the nights on which they are occulted are indicated. Individual Keplers are only shown if they are also a known or possible double. Light curve of occultations of all Kepler stars are desired.

Please send reports of all observations of these stars to Brian Loader at brian.loader@slingshot.co.nz, including any made in earlier months and not so far reported. And of course if you observe a stepped event for a star, which is not a known double, please report this. More details about reporting follow the predictions.

ARCHIVING OCCULTATION LIGHT CURVES

For ALL lunar occultations: single, double and Kepler K2 stars a csv file should be prepared for archiving. This can be done through the OBSERVATIONS EDITOR of OCCULT.

It will be necessary to generate a light curve using LIMOVIE and save or copy its csv file. You will also need to note the time, hh:mm:ss.sss of one frame and the corresponding frame number.

Then in the Observations Editor select the entry for the star and use the menu bar option to create a Light Curve Report. Follow the instructions on the new screen which appears. There is a help file. It is suggested that light curve reports be emailed in batches rather than singly. They are sent directly to Dave Herald from the program.

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 d P    Star  Mag    %         Double details        WDS or   Area of
Jan      No    v    ill      magnitudes sepn    PA?  OCC #    Visibility
 1 d   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    ,Ak
 1 d   78027  8.8   99+ : **  8.9 11.6  0.02"  58.0  OCc1297  R

 2 r    1123  7.3   99- : AB  7.3  8.1  6.8"   46.0  STF1083  RBTSCM
        1123:  B star is S 79376
 2 R    1127  5.9   99- : AB  5.9       0.02" 275.0  CHR  26° RBTSC
 3 r   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTSCM,AkWChI
 4 r    1387  7.0   91- : **  7.6  7.6  0.10"  90.0  OCc1402  B,AkWChI
 5 R   99157  7.4   82- : AB  7.69 8.76 0.12"   4.8  HDS1507° RBTSCM
   *** 99157 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 248861096}
 6 r   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RCM
 7 r   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTSC
 9 r   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTSCM,AkWChI
11 R X 39610  7.7   23- : AB  7.9 10.1  3.3"   35.9  BU   33  BTSCM
     X 39610: B star is X132801
12 r   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTSCM,AkWChI
12 r  159805 10.0   16- : ** 10.1 10.1  0.10"  90.0  OCc  17  ,AkWCh
   *** 159805 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 205692130}
12 r  159822  7.8   16- : **  8.6  8.6  0.10"  90.0  OCc  18  B,Ak
13 r   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTS,AkW
13 r X 41857 10.6   10- : AB 11.0 12.4  0.50" 112.4  RST3066  ,Ak 
   *** X 41857 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 230218553}
13 r  160303 10.2    9- : AB 10.2 11.2  7.4"  224.2  HO  650  RBTSCM
   *** 160303 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 230897226}
13 R  160317  8.5    9- : AB  8.5 10.7 16.3"  146.8  HJ 4923  RB
   *** 160317 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 230875820}
      160317:  B star is X140126 (see next)
13 r X140126 10.6    9- : BA 10.7  8.5 16.3"  326.8  HJ 4923  RB
   *** X140126 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 230875477}
13 r  160325  9.1    9- : AB 10.01 9.67 0.40"  94.7  HU  168  R
   *** 160325 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 230899515}
14 r  160940  9.2    5- : **  9.6  9.6  0.33" 122.0  OCc 525  B
14 r X146824 10.9    5- : AB 11.0 11.4  1.1"  178.1  RST5097  BTS
     X146824:  B star is X146825
14 r  160947  9.2    5- : AB  9.2 10.4  0.40" 111.0  CHR  66  RBTSCM

20 D  165160  8.5    9+ : **  9.2  9.2  0.10"  90.0  OCc 156  RBT
   *** 165160 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 206160939}
20 d   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTSCM
21 d   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTSCM,AkWChI
21 d  146636  9.5   16+ : AB  9.5 10.2  0.66" 288.5  A  2699  ,Ak
22 D      15  7.1   24+ : AB  7.1 10.9  0.9"  110.4  LSC   4  ,AkWCh
22 d X 32437 10.6   25+ : AB 10.7 10.9  1.0"    9.0  RST4141  C
23 d   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTSCM
23 d  109613  7.6   34+ : **  8.8  8.8  0.03"  27.0  OCc1153  RBTSCM
   *** 109613 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 220294907}
24 d  110118  9.2   44+ : **  9.4  9.4  0.04"   5.0  OCc1166  ,Ak
24 d  110164  8.5   45+ : **  9.0  9.5  1.0"   10.0  OCc1169  RBTS
24 d  110169  9.1   45+ : AB  9.2 11.8  0.64"  23.7  HDS 250  RBTSCM
25 D     393  6.7   55+ : **  7.6  7.6  0.10"  90.0  OCc1191  ,AkWCh
25 D     401  6.3   55+ : AB  6.3  6.5        247.0  CHR 200  RBT
26 d   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RB
26 d X 66785  9.6   67+ : AB 10.0 12.8  2.4"  336.1  HU 1065  RBTSCM
27 d   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    ,Ch
27 d X 70180  9.5   76+ : AB  9.5       0.01" 278.3  VVO 394? ,AkW
   *** X 70180 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 210652965}
27 D X 70265  7.0   76+ : BA  7.0  7.0  3.1"   96.0  STF 559  B,AkWChI
   *** X 70265 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 247031436}
27 D     684  6.2   77+ : AB  6.97 7.02 3.10" 276.0  STF 559  B,AkWChI
   ***   684 is in the Kepler2 program {ID = 247031423}
         684:  B star is X70265 (see previous)
27 d   94064  8.7   78+ : **  8.9 10.7  0.03" 128.0  OCc1241  RBTSCM
28 d   77247  8.9   85+ : AB  9.1 10.8  3.92" 165.7  A  2434  ,AkW
28 d   77528  8.1   87+ : AB  8.2 11.3  6.1"  335.0  STF 786  RBTSCM
                        : AC  8.2 11.8 16.3"  332.1  WAL  40  RBTSCM
29 d   78626  8.5   93+ : **  9.4  9.4  0.10"  55.0  OCc 884  RBT,AkWChI
29 d   78649  9.2   93+ : **  9.8  9.8  0.10" 141.0  OCc 883  R
29 d   78666  9.3   94+ : **  9.8  9.8  0.30"  90.0  OCc 343  R
29 d X  9833  9.4   94+ : ** 10.8 10.8  0.10" 261.0  OCc 843  RB
29 d   78762  9.2   94+ : **  8.8 12.0  0.20" 149.0  OCc 325  RBTSCM
29 d   78796  8.4   94+ : **  9.3  9.3  0.10" 272.0  OCc 862  RBTSCM
29 d    1048  8.5   94+ : AB  8.5 12.0  6.9"  229.4  HO   26  R
30 d   79764  9.4   98+ : AB  9.2  9.7  5.5"   99.0  COU 928  RB
30 d   79815  8.5   99+ : AB  9.10 9.29 0.63" 332.2  COU 930  RBTSCM

31 D   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTSCM,AkWChI
31 R   *** Kepler Stars occulted, light curves are desired    RBTSCM,AkWChI
31       TOTAL ECLIPSE of MOON Many Kepler stars occulted    



======================================================================

Visibility codes:
Australia: R Rockhampton, B Brisbane, T Tamworth, S Sydney, C Canberra, M Melbourne  

NZ (following a ,) Ak Auckland, W Wellington, Ch Christchurch, I Invercargill.
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Stars with previous occultation observations: 

#: Observations indicating double - these need further checking
*: Observations not showing double - need confirmation
!: Recent video discoveries - confirmation needed.
?: Uncertain double observation, confirmation or otherwise needed

A WDS number followed by a ° sign indicates the double has a known orbit.

==================================================================

Reporting Your Observations

The most convenient way of reporting is to use Dave Herald's OCCULT which has a Double Star report option in the Observations editor. Before using it, generate a light curve with Limovie and copy to the clip board. Your graph will be attached to the email which you can then send to brian.loader@slingshot.co.nz.

Otherwise in reporting please include your name and positional data as for other occultations reports, also your telescope type and method of observing and timekeeping.

For each event give the star name and the times of each step of the event with the corresponding accuracy. The limb PA, Rv and Cct of the event would also be useful.

In addition to measures of the PA and separation of binary stars, there is also a need for an estimate of the magnitude difference. An estimate of this can be made from the step sizes shown by Limovie data. So if possible a determination should be made of the size of each step together with an estimate of accuracy.

Please also report cases where a double event is predicted but none detected. These are especially likely with stars shown with an OCc designation

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