(last updated 2014 07 11)
observer notes / finder charts
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Across the globe pictured above, the two solid dark lines correspond to the northern limit, centerline of Pluto's shadow. The red solid line corresponds to the northern limit of Charon's shadow. The northern and southern limits correspond to a radius of 1400 km for Pluto and 605 km for Charon. The upper and lower dashed lines indicate 3-sigma errors for Pluto. The shaded area represents where the sun is more than 0 degrees below the horizon.
Table 1: Prediction Details |
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Pluto Geocentric Mid-time (yyyy month dd hh:mm:ss) | 2014 July 31 04:55:16± 00:00:441 UT |
Charon Geocentric Mid-time (yyyy month dd hh:mm:ss) | 2014 July 31 05:07:53± 00:00:441 UT |
Pluto Minimum Geocentric Separation | 0.248± 0.0491 arcsec |
Charon Minimum Geocentric Separation | 0.371± 0.0491 arcsec |
Position Angle (Pluto relative to the star; measured north through east) | 169.14 degrees |
Geocentric Velocity | 21.02 km/sec |
Magnitude 2UCAC2 | 12.14 |
Measured Magnitude (USNO frames) | 12.28 |
1One standard deviation of random error.
2The UCAC bandpass (579-642nm) is between V and R.
Table 2: Reference Star Position |
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Reference star position: (UCAC2, at epoch of event) |
RA (h:m:s; J2000) | Dec (d:m:s; J2000) | Notes |
P20140731 Catalog | 18 48 48.2729± 0.1977 | –20 24 16.033± 0.185 | |
P20140731 Measured3 | 18 48 48.2517± 0.0107 | –20 24 16.502± 0.028 | USNO 61-inch Telescope frames. See note 4. |
Table 3: Projected KBO Offsets from Reference Ephemeris at the Time of the Event |
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Body | RA (arcsec) | Dec (arcsec) | |
Pluto |
+0.0197± 0.0391 |
+0.030± 0.040 | See Notes 5 and 6 |
3Measured position corresponds to RA offset of –0.2984'' and Dec. offset of –0.4690''. 4All "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. 4Data analyzed using UCAC2 reference network. A weighted average of the data from the two telescopes was used to calculate the RA and DEC. The errors given are 1 standard deviation. 5The reference positions for Pluto and Charon are those given by JPL Horizon's ephemeris (Pluto source file: PLU043; Earth center source file: DE431). Our residual model is based on the assumption that the same offsets in RA and Dec apply to both Pluto and Charon. 6Data from the USNO 61-inch, Lowell 42-inch telescope, SARA-South 24-inch telescope, and Lowell Astrograph telescopes over the span of 5 years were reduced with respect to stars in the UCAC2 catalog. A model was developed to fit the residuals obtained from our measured positions compared to that of the object's JPL ephemeris. All residuals obtained from the different telescopes were consistent with the model. The model includes the first-order effects of errors in the orbital elements of Pluto: (i) constant offsets in RA and Dec, (ii) linear (in time) offsets in RA and Dec, (iii) sinusoidal terms with the Earth's orbital period, and (iv) sinusoidal terms with the Pluto-Charon mutual orbit. The model was propagated to obtain the predicted position and error of the Pluto at the time of the occultation. The errors listed for the Pluto are the RMS of the models fitted. |
Table 4: Site Information
Site |
East Longitude |
Latitude |
Site Altitude8 (km) |
Pluto Distance9 (km) |
Charon Distance9 (km) |
Velocity (km/s) |
Cerro Calan |
–70 32 48 |
–33 23 48 |
0.860 |
3593 N. |
6322 N. |
21.36 |
CTIO |
–70 48 54 |
–30 09 54 |
2.215 |
3922 N. |
6644 N. |
21.34 |
DCT |
–111 25 18 |
+34 44 41 |
2.337 |
10986 N. |
13715 N. |
21.39 |
Las Campanas |
–70 42 00 |
–29 00 30 |
2.282 |
4034 N. |
6756 N. |
21.35 |
Pico dos Dias |
–45 34 57 |
–22 32 04 |
1.864 |
3767 N. |
6447 N. |
21.21 |
Geocenter |
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center of Earth |
5705 N. |
8557 N. |
21.02 |
6Altitude of each observatory is measured in kilometers above sea level.
7"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 ±1109 km (one standard deviation). "S." means the site is south of the center of Pluto's shadow. "N." means the site is north of the center of Pluto's shadow.
Table 5: PC20140731 Occultation Predictions for Individual Sites
Site |
Pluto Immersion (UT)10 |
Pluto Mid-Time (UT) |
Pluto |
Charon Immersion (UT)10 |
Charon Mid-Time (UT) |
Charon |
Pluto Altitude |
Solar Altitude9 |
Cerro Calan |
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04:53:31 |
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05:05:59 |
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61 |
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CTIO |
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04:53:25 |
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05:05:53 |
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62 |
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DCT |
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04:55:19 |
----------- |
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05:07:56 |
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33 |
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Las Campanas |
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04:53:22 |
----------- |
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05:05:49 |
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62 |
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Geocenter |
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04:55:16 |
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05:07:53 |
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10The errors on all times are ±0:44 (44 seconds; one standard deviation). The solar altitude is given for locations where it is relevant (solar altitude greater than -18°). No entry in the immersion and emersion columns indicates that the occultation is not predicted to be visible at that site.
Last updated by Carlos Zuluaga (czuluaga@mit.edu) 2014-07-11 09:16
Please direct all inquiries to PAL (planetary-astronomy@mit.edu)