Shadow
Path
P445.3 Prediction
(as of: 2007 03 01)
On March 18th, 2007, Pluto will occult P445.3 (= 2UCAC 25823784; as originally published in McDonald, 2000; Table). The following prediction results from the analysis of 38 strip scans obtained at the Lowell Observatory Astrograph by MIT observers during 2005-2007. These are compared with an offset to the light-time corrected, geocentric JPL Horizon's ephemeris (System DE413 - Pluto source file; PLU013; Earth center source file; DE405) determined by comparing the Pluto system barycenter to the measured barycenter from the strips. Proper motion has been applied up to the time of the occultation (RA: -10.8 ± 8.0 mas/yr, Dec: -21.4 ± 7.9 mas/yr). The offsets between the measured RA and Dec of P445.3 and its UCAC2 values at the time of the event are also given in the table.
| Reference star position: (UCAC2, at epoch of event) |
RA (h:m:s; J2000) | Dec (d:m:s; J2000) | UCAC Mag1 |
| P445.3 | 17 55 05.6914 | –16 28 34.465 | 15.3 |
| Corrected P445.3 | 17 55 06.6935 | –16 28 34.355 | |
|
1The
UCAC bandpass (579-642nm) is between V and R |
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| Offsets
from Reference Position/Ephemeris2 |
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| Body | RA (arcsec) | Dec (arcsec) | Notes |
P445.3 |
+0.030± 0.017 | +0.11± 0.012 | From 26 strip scans |
| Pluto System Barycenter | -0.093± 0.024 | 0.073± 0.023 | From 6 strip scans |
| Pluto | -0.095± 0.024 | 0.075± 0.023 | From 6 strip scans |
| 2All
"offsets" are defined in the ("corrected"
- "reference") or ("observed"
- "catalog") sense. IE offsets should
be added to reference positions. |
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Shadow
Path |
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| The lines across the globe pictured below demonstrates our predicted Pluto path. The shaded area represents night time and the unshaded area represents where it will be day at the time of the occultation. | |
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P445.3 Prediction (as of: 2007 03 01) |
| Geocentric Mid-time (yyyy month dd hh:mm:ss) | 2007 March 18 10:58:15 UT |
| Minimum Geocentric Separation (arcsec) | 0.274± 0.029 |
| Position Angle (deg; Pluto relative to the star) | -15.99 |
| Geocentric Velocity (km/s) | 7.0 |
| Prediction Version | P445.3-AST-1.4 |
Prediction Notes
Archive of all P445.3 occultation predictions based on alternate sources of data, including past predictions
P445.3 Occultation Predictions for Individual Sites
| Site | East Longitude | Latitude | Distance (km) | P1 Imm Orbit Crossing Time (UT) | P2 Imm Orbit Crossing Time (UT) | Charon Imm Orbit Crossing (UT) | Pluto Immersion (UT) | Mid-Time (UT) | Pluto Emersion (UT) |
Charon Em Orbit Crossing (UT) |
P2 Em Orbit Crossing Time (UT) | P1 Em Orbit Crossing Time (UT) |
| Magdalena Ridge Obs. | –107 11 05 | 33 58 36 | 1102 | 10:51:55 | 10:54:02 | 10:56:10 | ||||||
| Mt. Graham | –111 39 54 | 35 12 12 | 1010 | 10:51:02 | 10:53:25 | 10:55:48 | ||||||
| Mt. Hokins | –11 53 04 | 31 41 19 | 1226 | 10:51:12 | 10:52:52 | 10:54:32 | ||||||
| Geocentric | ---------- | --------- | 6400 | ---------- | 10:58:15 | ---------- |
Please direct all inquiries to Planetary Astronomy Lab (planetary-astronomy@mit.edu)
Last updated by Carlos A Zuluaga(czuluaga@mit.edu) 2007-03-02 09:30
