Ixion.20120416 Occultation April 16, 2012

(last updated 2012 04 13)

OBSERVER NOTES

 

Across the globe pictured above, the three solid lines correspond to the northern limit, centerline, and southern limit of Ixion's shadow. The northern and southern limits correspond to a radius of 325 km. The upper and lower dashed lines indicate 3-sigma errors. The shaded area represents where the sun is more than 12 degrees below the horizon.
Table 1: Prediction Details
Ixion Geocentric Mid-time (yyyy month dd hh:mm:ss)

2012 April 16 04:05:24± 00:01:471 UT
Ixion Minimum Geocentric Separation 0.306± 0.0551 arcsec
Position Angle (Ixion relative to the star; measured north through east) –6.21 degrees
Geocentric Velocity 13.57 km/sec
Occultation Star UCAC2 magnitude 10.632

1One standard deviation of random error.
2The UCAC bandpass (579-642nm) is between V and R.


Table 2: Reference Star Position
Reference star position:
(UCAC2, at epoch of event)		 RA (h:m:s; J2000) Dec (d:m:s; J2000) Notes
Ixion.20120416 Catalog 17 12 26.7911± 0.0288 –25 34 10.853± 0.026
Ixion.20120416 Measured3 17 12 26.7926± 0.0387 –25 34 10.836± 0.051
From 6 Lowell 42-inch
Table 3: Projected KBO Offsets from Reference Ephemeris at the Time of the Event
Body RA (arcsec) Dec (arcsec)  
Ixion

–0.6046± 0.0321

 +0.427± 0.022 See Notes 5 and 6

3Measured position corresponds to RA offset of +0.0634 and Dec. offset of +0.0519.

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 Haumea are those given by JPL Horizon's ephemeris (Ixion source file: JPL7; Earth center source file: DE405).

6Data from the USNO 61-inch, SMARTS 0.9m, and Lowell 42-inch telescopes over the span of 3 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 Ixion: (i) constant offsets in RA and Dec, (ii) linear (in time) offsets in RA and Dec, and (iii) sinusoidal terms with the Earth's orbital period. The model was propagated to obtain the predicted position and error of the KBO at the time of the occultation. The errors listed for the KBO are 1 standard deviation.

 

Table 4: Site Information

Site
East Longitude
Latitude

Site Altitude6

(km)

Distance7

(km)

Velocity

(km/s)
Canary Islands
–15 18 00
28 00 00
0.
3764 S.
13.97
Namibia (ATOM)
17 06 00
–22 26 22
1.6
9028 S.
13.94
SAAO
20 48 36
–32 22 54
1.8
10180 S.
13.90
Geocenter
----------
---------
center of Earth
8022 S.
13.57

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 Ixion's shadow in the shadow plane. The errors on all closest approach distances are ±1611 km (one standard deviation). "S." means the site is south of the center of Ixion's shadow. "N." means the site is north of the center of Ixion's shadow.

Table 5: Ixion.20120416 Occultation Predictions for Individual Sites

Site
Ixion Immersion (UT)9
UT Mid-Time
Ixion Altitude
Solar Altitude9

Ixion Emersion (UT)9
Canary Islands
-----------
04:05:36
36
-----------
-----------
Namibia (ATOM)
-----------
04:02:20
67
–15
-----------
SAAO
-----------
04:02:21
65
–12
-----------
Geocenter
-----------
04:05:23
-----------
-----------
-----------

9The errors on all times are ±1:47 (1 minute and 47 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) 2012-04-13 12:30

Please direct all inquiries to PAL (planetary-astronomy@mit.edu)

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