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[Centaur]

I predict that the 42% illuminated waning crescent Moon will occult asteroid 1 Ceres for most North Americans (including Chicagolanders) during the early hours of 2012 SEP 09. My detailed article and three related preview graphics can be found at www.CurtRenz.com/moon

Photos and descriptions of the event would be welcome additions to this thread.

[Centaur]

Rob Robinson operates the website for the International Occultation Timing Association. He contends that the immersion of Ceres into the lunar bright limb will not be observable due to the Moon's brightness. You can follow our discussion in a similar thread that I initiated at Cloudy Nights where Rob is sc285: www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/5380401/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

[Paulie pchris00]

I would think he has a point. I haven't seen many occultations, and none lower than about 5th magnitude. I can't think of any occasions where I've even seen a star lower than about 6th magnitude in the same field as the Moon. It will be interesting to see if Ceres does indeed disappear before immersion. I know it's an inconvenient time for most of us, but this occultation couldn't take place at a better day and time for me. I'm not sure my camera will be able to get Ceres, even after emersion (I can barely get the Galilean Moons), but I'll try. I'll do my best on timings, too.

[Centaur]

Aug 24, 2012 7:37:58 GMT -6 Paulie pchris00 said:

I would think he has a point. I haven't seen many occultations, and none lower than about 5th magnitude. I can't think of any occasions where I've even seen a star lower than about 6th magnitude in the same field as the Moon. It will be interesting to see if Ceres does indeed disappear before immersion. I know it's an inconvenient time for most of us, but this occultation couldn't take place at a better day and time for me. I'm not sure my camera will be able to get Ceres, even after emersion (I can barely get the Galilean Moons), but I'll try. I'll do my best on timings, too.

Glad that you are up to the challenge, Paulie. Timings would certainly be appreciated. It would be interesting to learn how close to the lunar limb that Ceres can be detected.

Here are my predictions for Conway Observatory:

Immersion - 02:22:42 CDT - Zenith Angle 179.5°
Emersion - 03:16:18 CDT - Zenith Angle 278.2°

[Centaur]

I’m taking real estate classes at Harper College to meet the requirements for reinstating my expired license. Astronomy enthusiasts there asked me to post Ceres occultation predictions for the Harper College Observatory. Here are the data:

Immersion - 02:22:18 CDT - Zenith Angle 174.9°
Emersion - 03:18:29 CDT - Zenith Angle 281.0°

[Centaur]

If you would like my immersion and emersion predictions for your location, please reply with a longitude, latitude, elevation and time zone.

[Paulie pchris00]

Forecast not looking so great. If there's anything to see, I'll most likely be observing from home. If I happen to have a successful observation, I'll post the pertinent location details in my post.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I was fast asleep.

My weekends presently are not astronomically friendly.

[Paulie pchris00]

I doubt you missed much. The rain had stopped here, but was cloudy at immersion. I didn't think it likely to be any better at emersion, so I also went to sleep.

[Centaur]

Sept 9, 2012 12:44:51 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

I was fast asleep.

My weekends presently are not astronomically friendly.

Sept 10, 2012 20:20:00 GMT -6 Paulie pchris00 said:

I doubt you missed much. The rain had stopped here, but was cloudy at immersion. I didn't think it likely to be any better at emersion, so I also went to sleep.

Well you sleepy heads will soon get a reprieve. The Moon will occult a magnitude +3.8 star for Chicagolanders during the evening of September 22nd. That's far brighter then Ceres. I'll initiate a separate thread and write a related article when the event comes a little closer. I've already created a graze map and a Chicago preview graphic than can be seen on my Moon webpage: www.CurtRenz.com/moon

[Paulie pchris00]

Sept 10, 2012 23:19:52 GMT -6 Centaur said:

Well you sleepy heads will soon get a reprieve. The Moon will occult a magnitude +3.8 star for Chicagolanders during the evening of September 22nd.

Sleepy heads? I just didn't see the point of sitting out on a cold, wet patio staring at clouds. There really wasn't anything else to do at that time of night. And I have to admit, it's nice to sleep while it's dark out sometimes.


The September 22 occultation is almost perfect timing. Almost. That is International Observe the Moon Night. I'll be out, of course, and will probably catch the approach, but it might be hard to document with a crowd. It will be something to point out, though.