Occultation of C313.2 by Charon, 2005 Jully 11 UT

The brightest object in the center of the frame is Pluto, and the merged image of Charon and the star to be occulted (C313.2) are below and slightly to the left of Pluto. Watch the movie to see C313.2 disappear and then reappear, displaying only the much dimmer signal from Charon at that location during the occultation.

 


(This movie is in QuickTime format. If needed, download the QuickTime plugin.)

 

This movie was adapted from a high-speed series of images taken with the 6.5-m Clay telescope (Las Campanas Obs., Chile) with one of our new POETS (Portable Occultation, Eclipse, and Transit Systems) instruments. The timing of movie frames has been modified to enhance viewing ease, and details of the immersion, emersion, and the central portion of the event have been repressed.

Data and results from our occultation observations will be presented at the 2005 American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences meeting.

POETS were constructed through a collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Williams College, with support from NASA's Planetary Astronomy Program.

 

CREDITS:

Clay Observers: J.L. Elliot & E.R. Adams (MIT)

POETS Instrument Team: J.L. Elliot (PI), A.A.S. Gulbis, M.J. Person (MIT), B.A. Babcock, J.M. Pasachoff, & S.P. Souza (Williams College)

Movie Production: D.J. Osip (LCO)

Team Observers at Other Telescopes: A.A.S. Gulbis, S.D. Kern, M.J. Person (MIT), B.A. Babcock, J.W. Gangestad, J.M. Pasachoff, S.P. Souza (Williams College), & D.J. Osip (LCO)

Occultation Prediction: M.J. Person, E.R. Adams, E.A. Kramer, & J.L. Elliot (MIT)