 The northern
limit, centerline, and southern limit of Pluto's shadow are shown by the
three lines across the globe pictured above. The shaded area represents
where the sun is more than 12 degrees below the horizon. |
P468 Prediction (as of: 2007 03 23) |
| Geocentric Mid-time (yyyy month dd hh:mm:ss) | 2007 June 14 01:28:35± 00:00:18 UT |
| Minimum Geocentric Separation | 0.054± 0.021 arcsec |
| Position Angle (Pluto relative to the star; measured north through east) | 177.95 degrees |
| Geocentric Velocity | 23.6 km/sec |
| Prediction Version | P468-AST-1.3 |
| Reference star position: (UCAC2, at epoch of event) |
RA (h:m:s; J2000) | Dec (d:m:s; J2000) | UCAC Mag1 |
| P468 | 17 50 20.7407 | –16 22 42.1343 | 15.9 |
| P468 Corrected | 17 50 20.7362 | –16 22 42.2305 | |
| 1The
UCAC bandpass (579-642nm) is between V and R. |
|||
| Offsets
from Reference Position/Ephemeris2 |
|||
| Body | RA (arcsec) | Dec (arcsec) | Notes |
P468 |
+0.065± 0.020 | –0.096± 0.020 | From 27 strip scans |
| Pluto | 0 ± | 0 ± | |
| 2All
"offsets" are defined in the ("corrected" –
"reference") or ("observed" – "calculated")
sense. The offsets should be added to reference positions to get the measured
positions, which we use to calculate the prediction. |
|||
Discussion
On June 14th, 2007, Pluto will occult P468 (= 2UCAC 25819301; as originally published in McDonald & Elliot, 2000; Table). The above map and the following prediction results are from the analysis of 27 strip scans obtained at the Lowell Observatory Astrograph by Rosemary Pike and Amanda Bosh during 2005-2007.
Proper motion of the star has been applied up to the time of the occultation (according to the UCAC2 catalog, dRA: –6.6± 8.0 mas/yr, dDec: –6.4 ± 8.1 mas/yr). The offsets between the measured RA and Dec of P468 and its UCAC2 values at the time of the event are also given in the table.
Prediction Notes
Archive of all P468 occultation predictions based on alternate sources of data, including past predictions
P445.3 Occultation Predictions for Individual Sites
Site |
East Longitude |
Latitude |
Distance (km)3 |
Pluto Immersion (UT)4 |
Mid-Time (UT)4 |
Pluto Emersion (UT)4 |
Altitude at Midtime (deg) |
Velocity (km/s) |
Boyden Obs. |
–26 23 48 |
–29 02 30 |
111 S. |
01:28:18 |
01:29:16 |
01:30:15 |
74.5 |
24.03 |
Cerro Armazones |
–70 11 47 |
–24 35 51 |
121 S. |
01:30:54 |
01:31:52 |
01:32:51 |
40.1 |
23.91 |
Las Campanas |
–70 42 00 |
–29 00 30 |
594 S. |
01:30:54 |
01:31:47 |
01:32:40 |
39.6 |
23.89 |
Pico dos Dias |
–45 34 57 |
–22 32 04 |
486 N. |
01:29:40 |
01:30:35 |
01:31:30 |
62.4 |
24.02 |
SAAO |
–20 48 36 |
–32 22 54 |
471 S. |
01:27:59 |
01:28:54 |
01:29:49 |
73.5 |
24.02 |
Geocentric |
---------- |
--------- |
1257 N. |
01:28:09 |
01:28:35 |
01:29:01 |
-------- |
24.63 |
3"Distance" refers to the closest approach distance of the "Site" to the center of Pluto's shadow in the shadow plane. The errors on all closest approach distances are ±442 km (one standard deviation). "S." means the site is South of the center of Pluto's shadow.
4The errors on all times are ±00:00:18 (18 seconds; one standard deviation)
Results of Previous Occultations
Results of the 2006 Pluto occultation are described and compared with results of the 1988 and 2002 occultation in a preprint, Changes in Pluto's Atmosphere: 1988-2006
Last updated by Carlos A Zuluaga (czuluaga@mit.edu) 2007-03-23 10:10
Please direct all inquiries to Planetary Astronomy Lab (planetary-astronomy@mit.edu)