2020 March 5 – (9142) Rhesus (OPTIONAL)

Event Details

This is a unique and exciting opportunity for RECON teams from Klamath Falls Oregon down to Yuma California. (9142) Rhesus is a Trojan Asteroid located in the L5 Lagrange point that trails 60 degrees behind Jupiter. The shadow track for this occultation passes over two dozen RECON sites in California and Arizona. Due to its proximity to Earth at less than 5AU, the uncertainties on this prediction are very low, making this a very strong occultation campaign opportunity. For all event details (including sense-up) visit: RECON Event Detail Page for (9142) Rhesus

The interactive GoogleMap below shows the predicted path of the occultation shadow (black lines) along with the 3-sigma uncertainty (blue lines). While this event is optional because we this announcement is going out just a week before the event, we encourage all teams within 3-sigma of the prediction from Yuma up to Klamath Falls to participate if possible.

Pre-Event Checklist

  1. Complete the RECON Campaign Signup Form for this event. Some participants have had trouble using Internet Explorer to sign up when there are more than one upcoming campaign.  We recommend using an alternate internet browser.  Submissions are updated hourly on our Signup Status Page.
  2. Keep power supply plugged in at all times except when in use. Make sure laptop is fully charged well in advance of the event.
  3. Print this page and the Event Detail Page (see link above) and practice on the target star field prior to the 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:List

  1. Position Video
  2. Event Video
  3. Sky Field Video
  4. 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 or a text file with the same information.

Image of Star Field

To be provided.

Post-Event Details

Regardless of whether your team was able to collect data, 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.

If your team collected data, we also need you to save an electronic version of your log sheet and upload both your videos and observation log to SwRI in Boulder. For more information procedures for uploading data, visit Reporting Observations.