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Updated: 2007 JAN 30, 21:33 UT
Event Rank : 99
(The event Rank is a measure of the likelihood of observing an event, and is equal to the probability of at least one successful observation by a team of two observers spaced 1/8 path width just inside opposite sides of the predicted path. An event rank of 100 indicates that the prediction is expected to be very accurate).
THE UPDATED PATH
Note: The duration given in the line below is the interval during which the occultation shadow sweeps across the Earth - please see the minute markers on the map to determine the approximate time for your location.
On 2007 Feb 28 UT, the 106 km diameter asteroid (36) Atalante will occult a 11.6 mag star in the constellation Lynx for observers along a path across New Zealand passing over numerous sites including Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch. This a low altitude (12 to 18 degrees) event.
In the case of an occultation, the combined light of the asteroid and the star will drop by 1.2 mag to 12.3 mag (the magnitude of the asteroid) for at most 9.2 seconds.
This update is based on UNSO/Flagstaff astrometry for the asteroid kindly provided by Ron Stone, historical astrometry from the MPC files (via AstDys), and the following catalogs for the star position: UCAC.
Additional details of this and other events are available at Steve Preston's website at http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/
EVENT DETAILS SUMMARY :Important Note regarding Accuracy:
The uncertainty interval in path widths given above (and shown as a 1-sigma uncertainty ellipse on the plot) refers to RMS deviation and is applied as a +/- range. In other words, a path uncertainty of 1.0 path widths means that the actual center of the asteroid's shadow path should fall within plus or minus 1 path width of the plotted path center. However path errors larger than 1 sigma have been observed so observers should be alert for primary occultations within plus or minus 3 sigma of the updated path.
Further, almost all asteroidal satellites discovered so far have been found within 10 diameters of the asteroid (since this distance is deep enough within the gravitational well to be stable over long timescales). Therefore, if monitoring for secondary events, observing out to about 10 path-widths either side of the predicted track remains worthwhile.
We therefore recommend that you monitor for events if your observing location is up to +/- 10 path-widths from the predicted track. If not monitoring for occultations by secondary bodies you should observe from locations within 3 sigma of the nominal path.
In terms of time, the predictions are now usually accurate to about +/- 0.3 minute so you should be most attentive during the predicted minute of the event. However if intending to catch a potential satellite occultation you should start observing at least 10 times the predicted central duration before the predicted closest approach time for your location, and continue for a similar period afterwards.
Centre Star Star Sun Path Limits Error Limits
E. Longitude Latitude U.T. Alt Az Alt Limit 1 Limit 2 Limit 3 Limit 4
o ' " o ' " h m s o o o o ' " o ' " o ' " o ' "
Longitude Longitude Longitude Longitude
166 32 37 -54 0 0 10 25 45 1 15 -19 ... .. .. 167 54 26 ... .. .. 168 45 42
167 1 26 -53 0 0 10 25 45 2 15 -20 165 42 7 168 21 44 ... .. .. 169 12 3
167 31 18 -52 0 0 10 25 44 3 14 -21 166 13 23 168 50 13 ... .. .. 169 39 41
168 2 15 -51 0 0 10 25 44 4 14 -22 166 45 35 169 19 53 ... .. .. 170 8 32
168 34 14 -50 0 0 10 25 42 5 13 -23 167 18 44 169 50 41 ... .. .. 170 38 36
169 7 14 -49 0 0 10 25 41 6 13 -24 167 52 49 170 22 36 167 7 8 171 9 50
169 41 15 -48 0 0 10 25 39 7 13 -25 168 27 50 170 55 38 167 42 46 171 42 15
170 16 18 -47 0 0 10 25 37 8 12 -26 169 3 47 171 29 45 168 19 17 172 15 48
170 52 21 -46 0 0 10 25 35 9 12 -27 169 40 40 172 4 59 168 56 40 172 50 31
171 29 25 -45 0 0 10 25 32 10 11 -28 170 18 30 172 41 18 169 34 58 173 26 23
172 7 32 -44 0 0 10 25 29 11 11 -29 170 57 16 173 18 44 170 14 10 174 3 24
172 46 41 -43 0 0 10 25 26 12 10 -30 171 37 2 173 57 17 170 54 18 174 41 34
173 26 53 -42 0 0 10 25 22 13 10 -32 172 17 46 174 36 58 171 35 23 175 20 55
174 8 10 -41 0 0 10 25 18 14 9 -33 172 59 31 175 17 47 172 17 26 176 1 28
174 50 33 -40 0 0 10 25 14 15 9 -34 173 42 19 175 59 47 173 0 28 176 43 14
175 34 5 -39 0 0 10 25 9 16 8 -35 174 26 10 176 42 59 173 44 32 177 26 15
176 18 46 -38 0 0 10 25 4 18 7 -36 175 11 7 177 27 26 174 29 40 178 10 33
177 4 39 -37 0 0 10 24 58 19 7 -37 175 57 13 178 13 8 175 15 54 178 56 10
177 51 48 -36 0 0 10 24 52 20 6 -38 176 44 29 179 0 10 176 3 15 179 43 8
178 40 14 -35 0 0 10 24 46 21 6 -39 177 32 59 179 48 34 176 51 48 -179 28 29
179 30 0 -34 0 0 10 24 40 22 5 -41 178 22 45 -179 21 37 177 41 35 -178 38 37
-179 38 48 -33 0 0 10 24 33 23 4 -42 179 13 52 -178 30 19 178 32 40 -177 47 14
-178 46 9 -32 0 0 10 24 25 24 3 -43 -179 53 38 -177 37 27 179 25 5 -176 54 13
-177 51 56 -31 0 0 10 24 17 25 3 -44 -178 59 39 -176 42 57 -179 41 4 -175 59 31
-176 56 5 -30 0 0 10 24 9 26 2 -46 -178 4 8 -175 46 44 -178 45 43 -175 3 2
Use these links for further information:
[Planetary Occultations]
[Using the Predictions]
[Observing Details]
[Timing Details]
[Reporting Details]
[Report Form]
[Asteroid Occultation Results]
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