gjdonatiello
Betelgeuse occultation by (319) Leona
Betelgeuse occultation by (319) Leona
Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello
A more accurate analysis of the Betelgeuse occultation by (319) Leona to more precisely establish the central time of the event, estimated at 01:13:04 and lasting approximately one second. The locality is in the grazing zone.
Visually (but also in my and other videos), with the image in focus, I perceived a quick flicker of equal duration before and after. Could this tremor be associated with topographic roughness on the asteroid? Or to the photospheric macrocells of the star?
I was very lucky because the weather was terrible everywhere. In practice, I was in one of the few areas free of clouds and with really good seeing. Some in the central area saw nothing! What's more, it wasn't even a given that I would see anything since I was in the northern limit zone. The theoretical upper limit was about 100 meters north of my position.
Nonetheless, both at the telescope eyepiece + video recording in the first location, and in the startrails in the second (this image), I managed to capture the event. This means that the prediction was incorrect, perhaps by a kilometer. The time, however, was very precise, with a difference of 2 seconds. A second or so, but it was one of the most exciting phenomena I have witnessed!
5x30 sec @116mm with Canon EOS 4000D @400 ISO.
Video clips also available taken at 300mm.
Betelgeuse occultation by (319) Leona
Betelgeuse occultation by (319) Leona
Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello
A more accurate analysis of the Betelgeuse occultation by (319) Leona to more precisely establish the central time of the event, estimated at 01:13:04 and lasting approximately one second. The locality is in the grazing zone.
Visually (but also in my and other videos), with the image in focus, I perceived a quick flicker of equal duration before and after. Could this tremor be associated with topographic roughness on the asteroid? Or to the photospheric macrocells of the star?
I was very lucky because the weather was terrible everywhere. In practice, I was in one of the few areas free of clouds and with really good seeing. Some in the central area saw nothing! What's more, it wasn't even a given that I would see anything since I was in the northern limit zone. The theoretical upper limit was about 100 meters north of my position.
Nonetheless, both at the telescope eyepiece + video recording in the first location, and in the startrails in the second (this image), I managed to capture the event. This means that the prediction was incorrect, perhaps by a kilometer. The time, however, was very precise, with a difference of 2 seconds. A second or so, but it was one of the most exciting phenomena I have witnessed!
5x30 sec @116mm with Canon EOS 4000D @400 ISO.
Video clips also available taken at 300mm.