Event Details
(216) Kleopatra is an interesting Main Belt Asteroid known to have a peculiar dog-bone shape.
Animation provided by NSSDC, NASA – http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/news/kleopatra_pr_20000504.html, Public Domain, Link
On Sunday evening, November 12 local time, the shadow of this object will pass over northern Oregon and Southern Washington, providing an excellent opportunity to get a solid object profile for this peculiarly shaped main belt asteroid. We STRONGLY encourage all of our teams from Goldendale Washington down to Northlake Oregon to participate in this optional campaign. Most of these sites are guaranteed a positive event as long as skies are clear.
All other RECON teams are welcome to observe as well, both as good practice with your equipment and to potential capture one of Kleopatra’s two known moons.
Below are details on this optional occultation opportunity. Note that the information below is not the standard TNO information because this is a main belt event predicted using IOTA tools.
Date: 13 November at 03:56 UT
Recording Window: 03:56-03:57 UT
Sense-up: 4x-8x (will vary with sky conditions; make sure you can see target star and at least one comparison star on screen)
IOTA Details: http://asteroidoccultation.com/2017_11/1113_216_51934.htm
Shadow prediction map for Kleopatra provided by asteroidoccultation.com
Star Training Set
To be provided.
Pre-Event Checklist
- Complete the RECON Campaign Signup Form for this event. Submissions are updated hourly on our Signup Status Page.
- Plug in your power supply and RECON laptop to make sure both are fully charged well in advance of the event.
- Print this page as well as the Event Detail Page above and practice finding field prior to event.
Feel free to contact the RECON leadership team anytime by emailing tnorecon-org@mailman.boulder.swri.edu.
Observation Protocol
See our Full Campaign Observation Protocol Page for details on files to save:
- Position Video
- Event Video
- Sky Field Video
- Dark Field Video
You should configure VirtualDub to save files sequentially by using “Set Capture File” to save as C:/Users/RECON/Data/YYYYMMDD/YYYYMMDD_01. You should record the filenames and information about each file using the RECON Observation Logsheet.
Finder Charts
Star chart for Kleopatra using AAVSO VSP.
Image of Starfield
Star field for Kleopatra at x128 provided by John Keller
Post-Event Details
If you participate in this optional event, we request that you Report Your Observations. This includes completing the Campaign Observation Report Form (below), saving an electronic version of your log sheet, and uploading both videos and observation log to SwRI in Boulder.
We need all teams to complete the RECON Campaign Observation Report Form within one week of the event. To view reports from teams from throughout the network, check out the Event Reporting Status Page.
Go RECON!