2021 April 16 UT – Hi’iaka

Check out the map occultation prediction for Hi’iaka below. This event is picture-perfect for RECON!!! This event involves the largest known moon of Haumea, which is itself the third largest TNO after Pluto and Eris. This is a scientifically important opportunity for RECON to obtain the first occultation measurement of this satellites. Hi’iaka is actually larger than most of the objects we have attempted with RECON, estimated to be about 340 km across.

Occultation prediction for Haumea from Frédéric Vachier. Red lines indicate 1-sigma cross-track uncertainty prior to April 6 single chord occultation on April 6, 2021.
Occultation prediction map following single chord occultation detection in Morocco in early April. Estimated one-sigma uncertainty based on chord is in red, but full network should participate since additional uncertainties may shift prediction north or south.

As with all campaigns this year, teams should follow CDC guidelines (including wearing masks and practicing physical distancing) to ensure the safety of all participants during the current COVID pandemic. Feel free to reach out to our email at tnorecon-org@mailman.boulder.swri.edu if there is anything we can do to help remotely. We appreciate you, RECON – stay safe!

Event Details

With a highly ellipsoidal shape, Haumea measures roughly 2,000 × 1,500 × 1,000 km and is the third largest TNO after Pluto and Eris. This dwarf planet also has a ring and two smaller moons, Hi’iaka and Namaka. Predictions indicate that RECON is well situated to to measure Hi’iaka during this event with roughly a 70% chance of success if everyone participates. We currently do not have a RECON-generated event detail page for this event, but for useful information the event, visit: Haumea Details provided by Frédéric Vachier. Other important details for the observation are shown below.

We are not able to print a standard Event Detail Page for this event, but key observation details are provided below.

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

The of-date coordinates for the star are 14:24:53.2 +16:04:55 (for the RECON CPC1100’s). The J2000 position is 14:23:52.6 +16:10:40. The event mid-time is 06:35:30 UT for RECON. Take data from 06:30:30 to 06:40:30 UT. Use a sense-up of 32X for the MallinCAMs and a 500 ms exposure for the QHY174 cameras. Central events should last 7-8 seconds.

The star training set for RECON systems is:

Star training set for Hi'iaka, (2021/04/16 06:35UT)
Object        RA         Dec     mag   sep mel
Arcturus   14:16:38.0 +19:04:21  0.0  3.58 125
20 Boo     14:20:45.7 +16:12:37  4.9  1.00 128
PPM 130552 14:25:11.8 +16:10:41  7.0  0.12 129
Hi'iaka    14:24:53.2 +16:04:55 11.9       129
Positions are for equinox of date

The training set for other systems is:

Star training set for Hi'iaka, (2021/04/16 06:35UT)
Object        RA         Dec     mag   sep mel
Arcturus   14:15:38.0 +19:10:14  0.0  3.58 125
20 Boo     14:19:45.0 +16:18:26  4.9  1.00 128
PPM 130552 14:24:11.2 +16:16:25  7.0  0.12 129
Hi'iaka    14:23:52.6 +16:10:40 11.9       129
Positions are for J2000

See our Full Campaign Observation Protocol Page for details on files to save. For teams with our new QHY cameras, you only need to save the event video. For teams still using our MallinCam setup, you should take the following four videos:

  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

Image of 2021-04-16 Hi’iaka field. This is a 500 ms exposure and matches the view from the MallinCAM systems.
Image of 2021-04-16 Hi’iaka field. This image is a 500 ms exposure and matches the view from the QHY174 camera.

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.