Bright Interamnia Occultation Sat. Mar. 22/23, Hawaii & Japan
New: 2003 March 17On Saturday night, March 22/23 in Hawaii (early Sunday evening in central Japan), the 6.7-magnitude spectral type K0 star SAO 96908 (= HIP 36189) in Canis Minor will be occulted by the large dark F-class asteroid (704) Interamnia. The updated path is a little south of that shown on the map on pages 102-103 of the March issue of Sky and Telescope, and the astrometry is very good, so we are confident that all 8 major islands of Hawaii will be within the path. Since it is the best asteroidal occultation this year in the U.S.A., I plan to try to observe the event myself from Maui, and want help from other possible observers on the island to time the event there (see below). Similarly, Paul Maley, IOTA vice president from Houston, is planning to observe from Hawaii Island, and has already lined up help in the effort to cover the occultation from there. The two islands cover different parts of the wide path, so observations from both will be needed to determine the size and shape of Interamnia. If observations can also be made from Oahu and/or Kaui, that could extend the coverage a little farther north. The occultation is predicted to last 66 seconds at the central line. The star is at J2000 RA 7h 27m 09.1s, Dec +11 deg. 57' 18", about 3 deg. due north of beta Canis Minoris and about halfway between the 5th-mag. stars 1 and 6 Canis Minoris. Finder charts, as well as the updated path data and maps, can be found at http://www.asteroidoccultation.com. The central occultation will occur at 10:01 UT (1 min. after midnight HST) from Kaui to Maui, and at 10:02 UT (12:02 am HST) on the island of Hawaii. The altitude above the western horizon will be 31 deg. on Oahu and 28 deg. on Hawaii. In east-central Japan (Tokyo near the southern limit), the occultation will occur at 9:42 UT (March 23 UT) with the star over 60 deg. high, but observers there will need to locate the star quickly in darking evening twilight, with the Sun altitude -12 deg. on the east coast of Honshu. The time error of the prediction is only 7 seconds, so you only need to observe for about 5 minutes centered on the time for your location, to cover the small possibility for occultations by any satellites of Interamnia. The 1-sigma error in the path is only 0.09 path-width (31 km = 19 miles). With an estimated diameter of 316 km (confirmed from another occultation, of a 9th-mag. star observed in the southwestern USA on 1996 Dec. 17; the outline from that event was almost 330 km in diameter), the path projects on the Earth's surface to a predicted width of 346 km (215 miles). We want to deploy as many stations as possible across the path to obtain the best coverage and define the shape of Interamnia as well as possible. Basic information about timing occultations can be found here. We want to know where the occultation might be timed from fixed-site telescopes so that those of us with portable equipment can observe from locations to fill the coverage gaps. The list of stations below will help with this, including several possible stations in Japan. But I need help from Japanese observers to know from which locations observations will be attempted there; closer to the time of the event, we'll obtain an improved estimate of the weather both there and in Hawaii, which can also affect where the mobile observers might set up. But there is not much room for maneuvering, especially on Maui. Observations from Japan will be valuable especially near the limits of the path. I am not very familiar with the weather in the Hawaiian Islands and seek advice about it. I'll start looking at the IR satellite images to see how things look at 10h UT the next few nights. I suppose that the wind is generally from the east, so that the western sides of the islands are dryer and have less cloudiness than the eastern (or, for Maui, the northeastern) side. I've seen some images with clouds at medium elevations, so maybe western coastal areas are better than a few miles inland? If the low areas are forecast to be very cloudy, it should be possible to go to high elevations at Haleakala, but there's limited area there; I'd prefer the lower areas if possible. I will bring with me equipment for 4 stations, just telephoto lenses attached to sensitive video cameras on small tripods to record the occultation from 4 locations. I can do this on my own, but it would be much easier if I can have some help; I can set these up, and if someone could just press a couple of buttons to turn the equipment on at one or two of the stations, they could be separated farther from the others (I will be able on my own to spread out over only 10 to 15 road miles). Even better would be to set up one or two of my cameras on telescopes already on Maui; the small cameras, which weigh only a few ounces, have adaptors to fit any 1.25-in. eyepiece holder. Because of flight weight restrictions, I will not bring a telescope with me. I will be arriving at Kahului airport at 11 am on Saturday, March 22. Any help on Maui that you can give will be greatly appreciated. Similarly, Paul Maley has already organized observers on Hawaii, but he could always use more; if you are there and have not already contacted him, he's at pdmaley@yahoo.com . He will be leaving Thursday morning, March 20, to go to Kona. I will be leaving that afternoon, but will spend March 21 visiting my mother in Los Alamitos, Calif., phone 562-430- 2391. I will have e-mail contact from there. See the end of this message for my e-mail addresses and local (Maryland) phones. ________________________________________________ Stations for the Interamnia occultation of 2003 March 22/23 Below is a list of observer stations sorted by distance from Steve Preston's updated central line. Distances are given in km measured perpendicularly from the central line. The time gives the updated time (U.T. of March 23) of closest approach, when the occultation should occur, within an accuracy of about +/-0.2 minute, at the location. You only need to monitor the star for an occultation within a five-minute period centered on the time of closest approach for your location (to check for occultations by possible satellites of Interamnia). You can search for your city or name with a word processor to find your time and distance from the predicted central line. If your station is not in the list, send me the coordinates of the place where you plan to observe (in the USA, you can just specify an address or highway intersection) and I'll add that station for a later message. Please let me know if you plan to monitor the star for an occultation, and I will send out a new version of this list with your track marked as occupied. This will help for positioning mobile observers. I will put items in the "C" (code) column, to indicate commitments to observe from fixed sites and weather probabilities, after I have heard from several of you. ______________________________________________ NOTE: The table needs to be displayed and/or printed with a fixed- space font such as Courier for the columns to line up properly. In the e-mail message, the lines are long enough that some (or many) of the lines will wrap; a .txt (plain ASCII text) version of this article is here. Observers some distance from the path (in Japan) have a chance to see the occultation, and observers at least within the +/-1-sigma range (distance 204 km N. to 204 km S.) are strongly encouraged to attempt observation; observations to the +/- 2-sigma range (235 km N. to 235 km S.) could also be of value. Under C, * will be a committed fixed-site observer, V = * with video, and m = tentative location for mobile observer, and M = tentative location for mobile video observer. Possible locations on Maui and Hawaii are included in the list, as well as observatories from a probably now outdated list. Dist. U.T. W.Long. Lat. h City/ State/ Observer or km C h m o o m Town Country Observatory 266N -- Northern limit with very unlikely 3-sigma north shift 256N 9 42.6-141.132 39.135 61 A Mizusawa, Japan Mizusawa Astrogeod 235N -- Northern limit with unlikely but possible 2-sigma north shift 212N 9 42.2-139.846 38.926 4 P O1S9SAKATA,YAMAGATA,JAP.CR/I.SATO 204N -- Northern limit with very possible 1-sigma north shift 173N--10 2.0 155.000 21.446 0 *** Northern Limit 168N 9 42.4-140.310 38.442 72 M 407 Kahoku [Okazaki] 160N 9 42.5-140.720 38.309 335 M 895 Hatamae [Sato] 159N 9 42.6-140.863 38.275 50 M 891 JCPM Kimachi Stati 157N 9 42.6-140.866 38.256 25 M 893 Sendai Municipal O 157N 9 42.6-140.865 38.257 45 A Sendai, Japan Sendai Ast. Obs. 157N 9 42.6-140.843 38.257 153 A Sendai, Japan Tohoku Univ. Obs. 156N 9 42.5-140.782 38.262 130 M 391 Sendai Observatory 147N 9 42.6-140.913 38.155 5 P O138MASUDA,HONSHU, JAPAN/ 122N 9 42.4-140.159 38.045 253 M 358 Nanyou [Okuni] 111N 9 42.6-140.929 37.824 26 M 404 Yamamoto [Otomo] 81N 10 1.9 156.285 20.948 0 Opana Pt., Maui 80N 10 1.8 156.591 21.034 0 Nakalele Pt., Maui 71N 10 1.6 157.904 21.342 9 P H102HONOLULU, HAWAII MOK. MAL. OBSY. 61N 10 1.9 156.683 20.878 0 Lahaina, Maui 59N 10 2.0 156.259 20.7103034 P H105HALEAKALA, HAWAII LURE O./U.HAW. 58N 10 2.0 156.257 20.7073054 A Kaeleku/Haleakala, HC.E.K. Mees Solar 46N 10 1.9 156.445 20.658 0 Makena, Maui 24N 10 2.1 155.842 20.267 0 Hoea Camp Hawaii Is. n. tip 21N 10 2.1 155.832 20.238 0 Breevort 12N 9 42.5-140.599 36.960 722 M 412 Iwaki [Tanaka] 0N 10 2.3 155.000 19.787 0 center 155 W center 10:02:18UT 5S 9 41.5-137.137 37.335 183 M 417 Yanagida Astronomi 10S 9 42.6-140.713 36.739 49 P O139TAKAHAGI, JAPAN / 11S 10 2.2 155.472 19.822 0 Mauna Kea 24-inch 14S 10 2.2 155.885 19.917 0 Marriott Hotel Lynn Palmer 22S 9 42.6-140.694 36.640 45 P O294HITATI,IBARAGI,JAPANH.TOMIOKA 23S 9 42.6-140.676 36.628 29 P O293HITATI,IBARAGI,JAPANH.TOMIOKA 28S 10 2.2 155.998 19.817 0 Four Seasons Hotel Paul Maley C8 30S 9 42.4-140.143 36.655 133 M 889 Karasuyama [Inoda] 43S 9 42.6-140.597 36.461 22 P O135MURAMATU, JAPAN 45S 9 42.3-139.873 36.556 159 M 390 Utsunomiya [Kurosa 49S 10 2.2 155.983 19.617 0 Wayne Jr. Maley remote 53S 9 42.6-140.625 36.367 27 A Nakaminato, Japan Hiraiso Solar Terr 56S 9 41.7-137.896 36.762 687 M 383 Chirorin [Sei] 59S 10 2.2 155.927 19.498 0 Wayne Sr. Wayne Fukunaga Sr. 69S 9 42.5-140.295 36.271 32 P O130IWAMA, JAPAN 10CR+8CR/ 75S 9 41.9-138.322 36.5201280 A Toyokawa, Japan Nagoya Univ. Sugad 75S 9 42.5-140.192 36.230 32 P O127KAKIOKA, JAPAN 77S 10 2.3 155.484 19.203 259 P H199PAHALA, HAWAII WM.B.ALBRECHT 77S 9 42.6-140.527 36.162 33 P O133SUWA-1, JAPAN 79S 10 2.3 155.880 19.297 0 95 mile marker Pritchard 83S 9 42.2-139.329 36.297 0 M 405 Kamihoriguchi [Shi 85S 9 42.4-140.070 36.164 30 P O125TAMIYAMA, JAPAN 86S 9 42.2-139.417 36.251 39 M 411 Oizumi [Kobayashi] 88S 9 42.2-139.337 36.245 84 M 887 Ojima [Niijima] 89S 9 42.5-140.257 36.098 25 P O128KAMIOTU, JAPAN 90S 10 2.3 155.763 19.1521406 OceanView HI Mike Morrow, WGS84 91S 9 41.4-136.932 36.586 70 P O2H1HUKUNO,HONSHU, JAPANTOKUNAGA 91S 10 2.3 155.762 19.148 0 South Point Morrow et al. 91S 9 42.2-139.493 36.194 8 M 897 YGCO Chiyoda Stati 92S 9 42.4-140.129 36.091 0 M 393 JCPM Sakura Statio 92S 9 42.2-139.247 36.228 54 M 876 Honjo [Mitsuma] 97S 9 42.6-140.663 35.955 32 A Kashima, Japan Kashima Space Rese 98S 9 42.2-139.475 36.140 17 M 892 YGCO Hoshikawa 102S 9 42.2-139.421 36.112 0 M 401 Oosato [Yamagishi] 106S 9 42.1-139.108 36.125 193 M 398 Nagatoro [Kawasato 106S 9 42.2-139.235 36.099 141 M 875 Yorii [Arai, Mori] 108S 9 42.5-140.250 35.919 148 M 890 JCPM Tone Station 114S 9 41.9-138.526 36.141 782 M 862 Saku [Takamizawa] 117S 9 42.1-139.197 36.003 879 A Tokyo, Japan Dodaira Obs. 120S 9 42.1-139.150 35.989 279 M 369 Chichibu [Sato] 122S 9 41.5-137.308 36.2481276 A Kamitakara, Japan Hida Obs. 123S 9 41.5-137.180 36.261 0 M 863 Furukawa [Ohshita] 126S 9 42.3-139.705 35.848 5 P O1KOKAWAGUTI,SAITAMA,JAPS.SATO 130S 9 42.5-140.194 35.731 15 P O189SAKURA, TIBA, JAPAN S.KANEKO 131S 9 42.4-140.027 35.750 30 P O122HUNABASI, JAPAN 132S 9 41.6-137.555 36.1132876 A Matsumoto, Japan Norikura Solar Obs 133S 9 42.6-140.481 35.657 6 P O132YOKOSIBA, JAPAN 135S 9 42.4-139.915 35.732 0 P O2I1ITIKAWA,HONSHU,JAPANM.HASEGAWA 135S 9 42.5-140.241 35.677 35 P O137SAKURA, JAPAN 135S 9 42.3-139.744 35.757 31 P O164SUNDAI GAKUEN, JAPAN(HIGH SCHOOL) 137S 9 41.9-138.483 35.9331350 A Nobeyama, Japan Nobeyama Cosmic 139S 9 42.3-139.671 35.734 50 P O2T1TOKYO, JAPAN S.YOSIKAWA 139S 9 42.3-139.780 35.713 38 P O2TETOKYO, JAPAN SCIENCE MUSEUM 140S 9 42.1-139.083 35.814 659 M 877 Okutama [Hioki] 141S 9 42.2-139.368 35.766 146 M 409 Mizuho [Hioki] 141S 9 42.2-139.304 35.770 154 P O282NISITAMA,TOKYO,JAPANK.YAMADA 141S 9 41.9-138.448 35.8991142 M 894 Kiyosato [Miyasaka 142S 9 42.3-139.607 35.720 49 P O181KAMIIGUSA,TOKYO,JAP.N.TAKEISI,'75- 143S 9 42.2-139.314 35.758 148 P O286HAMURA,TOKYO,JAPAN H.ONO 143S 9 42.4-139.823 35.677 3 P O292KOTO, TOKYO, JAPAN H.SUZUKI 144S 9 42.3-139.487 35.716 82 G TOKYO MZ JAPAN YASUHARU SUZUKI 144S 9 42.3-139.675 35.684 40 P O289NAKANO, TOKYO, JAPANY.OGAWA 144S 9 42.2-139.419 35.725 96 P O284TATIKAWA,TOKYO,JAPANT.OTUKA 144S 9 41.9-138.322 35.8911106 M 386 Yatsugatake-Kobuch 145S 9 41.9-138.368 35.8791039 M 896 Astro Village Obse 145S 9 42.3-139.769 35.661 6 P O1TATOKYO, JAPAN HYDROG. OBSY. 146S 9 42.0-138.812 35.8051455 M 368 Ochiai [Hioki] 146S 9 41.8-138.175 35.9001817 M 408 Nyukasa [Hirasawa, 146S 9 42.3-139.745 35.655 25 P O2TATOKYO, JAPAN TOKYO UNIV.OBSY 147S 9 42.3-139.743 35.655 25 P O2TDAZABU/TOKYO, JAPAN /TOKYO AST.OBSY 148S 9 41.9-138.300 35.863 880 M 366 Miyasaka Observato 148S 9 42.3-139.542 35.670 61 P O141MITAKA/TOKYO, JAPAN /K-DOME 151S 9 42.3-139.748 35.618 7 P O190SINAGAWA,TOKYO,JAPAN20CL/Y.KIMOTO 151S 9 42.3-139.648 35.633 40 P O290SETAGAYA,TOKYO,JAPANY.MORIYA 153S 9 42.5-140.155 35.534 7 P O126KIKUMA, JAPAN 153S 9 42.2-139.361 35.658 117 P O151HATIOZI, JAPAN 154S 9 42.3-139.730 35.594 15 P O1A1TOKYO, JAPAN/1935 /KIYOO OGAWA 154S 9 42.3-139.701 35.592 30 P O1I1OMORI/TOK.,JAPAN/'35/Y.KOMORI-HOME 155S 9 42.1-139.039 35.690 749 M 376 Uenohara [Kawasato 155S 9 42.3-139.738 35.579 2 P O2T9OTA, TOKYO, JAPAN T.SATO 155S 9 42.3-139.647 35.593 10 P O285KAWASAKI,KANAGAWA,J.K.OTUMA 155S 9 42.5-140.095 35.517 2 P O1G3GOI, HONSHU, JAPAN K.TOMITA 157S 9 42.3-139.692 35.567 11 P O291SIMO-MARUKO,TOKYO,J.+7CR/T.HIROSE 158S 9 42.5-140.390 35.446 3 P O131SIRAKATA, JAPAN / 158S 9 42.3-139.672 35.560 5 P O1KDKAWASAKI,HON., JAPAN K.HARADA 161S 9 42.4-140.053 35.477 5 P O124ANEGASAKI, JAPAN 166S 9 42.3-139.641 35.495 45 P O283YOKOHAMA,KANAG.,JAPAN T.HONDA 166S 9 42.0-138.610 35.652 261 P O288KOHU,YAMANSKI,JAPAN T.EIZYU 167S 9 41.7-137.628 35.7931130 A Kiso, Japan Kiso Obs. 169S 9 42.4-140.036 35.403 13 P O123HIRAOKA, JAPAN 171S 9 42.4-139.968 35.392 15 P O120NAKAGO-1, JAPAN 173S--10 2.6 155.000 18.150 0 *** Southern Limit 178S 9 42.5-140.255 35.291 33 P O140ODAKI, JAPAN / 179S 9 42.4-139.923 35.331 30 P O119KIMUTU, JAPAN 183S 9 42.3-139.630 35.346 5 P O166NISISIBA,YOKO.,JAPANH.TOKUI 187S 9 42.5-140.278 35.198 62 P O129HUSANO, JAPAN 191S 9 42.0-138.612 35.4271015 A Kamiku Isshiki, JapaNagoya Univ. Fujig 204S -- Southern limit with very possible 1-sigma south shift 214S 9 42.1-138.937 35.171 78 M 886 Mishima [Akiyama] 218S 9 42.1-138.995 35.125 320 M 888 Gekko [Oshima] 219S 9 41.5-137.056 35.413 141 M 403 Kani [Mizuno] 226S 9 41.4-136.753 35.395 10 P O1G1GIFU, HONSHU, JAPAN K.TOMITA 226S 9 41.5-137.088 35.343 140 M 901 Tajimi 232S 9 41.8-138.079 35.141 382 M 884 Kawane [Iwahana] 235S -- Southern limit with unlikely but possible 2-sigma south shift 240S 9 41.9-138.422 35.020 22 M 883 Shizuoka 241S 9 41.6-137.356 35.169 428 M 882 JCPM Oi Station 244S 9 42.0-138.468 34.970 304 M 385 Nihondaira Observa 246S 9 42.0-138.467 34.957 22 M 885 JCPM Yakiimo Stati 246S 9 41.6-137.257 35.135 119 M 881 Toyota [Suzuki] 254S 9 41.3-136.308 35.208 0 M 402bs Dynic Astronomical 255S 9 41.6-137.353 35.041 431 M 879 Tokai [Furuta] 257S 9 41.9-138.188 34.902 280 M 898 Fujieda [Shiozawa] 263S 9 41.2-136.093 35.154 100 P O1S2SIGA, HONSHU, JAPAN / 264S 9 42.1-138.988 34.713 172 A Sirahama, Japan Sirahama Hydrograp 266S 9 41.9-138.179 34.818 285 M 384 Shimada 266S -- Southern limit with very unlikely 3-sigma south shift 268S 9 41.9-138.145 34.810 177 P O112KANAYA, JAPAN 11CR+6CR/KUNEB. 268S 9 41.5-136.914 34.987 63 M 878 Kagiya [Furuta] David Dunham, 2003 March 18, 1h UT Office e-mail david.dunham@jhuapl.edu phone 240-228-5609 Home e-mail dunham@erols.com phone 301-474-4722; cell phone 301-526-5590