Betelgeuse - (319) Leona

The Occultation of Betelgeuse by (319) Leona on 2023 Dec 12

Betelgeuse occultation prediction across Europe.

On 2023 Dec 11/12 the bright naked-eye star Betelgeuse (α Ori) will be occulted by the main-belt asteroid (319) Leona. The occultation path of this transatlantic event starts in eastern China, then crosses Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the southern tip of Florida and finally ends in Mexico. Because the apparent size of the asteroid will likely be smaller than the angular diameter of the star in visible light (~50 mas), this will result in an annular (and/or partial) occultation which is different from the usual (total) asteroidal occultation and will give a big community of pro/am observers a unique opportunity to study this star in detail with small instruments.

Be aware that the occultation will happen in the night Dec 11 -> 12 (Monday -> Tuesday) !

Some selected mid-occultation times are:
Turkey (Ankara) : ~01:11.3 UT,
Greece (Ioannina) : ~01:12.5 UT,
Italy : ~01:13 UT,
Spain (Jaen) : ~01:15.5 UT
Florida : ~ 01:24.9 UT

CORA prediction(s): JPLH#69

Simulated display (on the sky plane) and light curves of the Betelgeuse occultation using an ellipse for (319) Leona with a size of 74x57 km and a diameter of 50 mas for Betelgeuse. Three different situations are shown: (a) observer on the central line, (b) 30 km south of observer (a), and (c) 30 km north of observer (a). In each case the asteroid is moving horizontally from left to right. In the upper panel the view at mid-occultation (for that site) is shown. The plot with the corresponding light curves in the lower panel shows the normalized intensity vs time t-t0 in seconds, where t0 is the mid-occultation time for the observer on the central line (case a), thus cases b and c are shifted. Graphic created using https://starblink.org/occult_simulator_en

Observing Guides

We provide comprehensive observing guidelines and tips in English, Spanish and Turkish.

A video (in Spanish with subtitles in different languages) created by our colleague René Duffard (IAA) provides also observing instructions.

Weather

The official spanish weather forecast for the Andalucia region is provided by AEMET. Other recommended services are: YR, Meteoblue.

We provide also a Google Earth Overlay (kmz) with night time cloud cover statitistics in the last 20 years from satellite data for the month of december. The contour plots indicate cloud cover fraction from 0 to 1. The smallest cloud cover values are around 0.3 (corresponding to 30% of cloud cover in the whole month). The worst cloud cover fraction is in blue color and the best in brown and red. Below a screenshot (here in higher resolution).

$The contour plots indicate cloud cover fraction from 0 to 1. The smallest cloud cover values are around 0.3 (corresponding to 30% of cloud cover in the whole month). The worst cloud cover fraction is in blue color and the best in brown and red.$

Reporting your observations

Once the data has been taken, contact your local coordinator to send them the data by WeTransfer, Dropbox, Google Drive, or a similar online service.

Web resources

Below are some websites that are general or specifically dedicated to the occultation of Betelgeuse and are therefore recommended to visit.
Of course, this list does not claim to be complete.

Predictions by the CORA project.

Predictions by the Lucky Star project.

The OWC project provides occultation predictions made with Occult by different computers.

Spanish Citizen Science Project. The website has a nice online simulator.

Spanish Discord Occultation Channel, Ocultaas. Discord account required.

French pro-am collaboration, Gemini.

Turkish event website by Y. Kilic.

Webpages by B. Gährken.

Event webpage by IOTA/ES.

German Astronomical Association, VdS.

Italian Astronomical Association, AstroCampania ETS.

ESOP42 presentation by M. Montargès.

ESOP42 presentation by A. Noschese.

ESOP42 presentation by W. Beisker.

IAA-CSIC press release (2023-12-05).

References

Ortiz, J. L. et al., 2023, The stellar occultation by (319) Leona on 13 September 2023 in preparation for the occultation of Betelgeuse :: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slad179

Kretlow, M. et al., 2023, The Occultation of Betelgeuse by (319) Leona on 2023 Dec 12 :: JOA 2023-4

Schnabel, C., 2023, Practical Advice for the Occultation of Betelgeuse by (319) Leona :: JOA 2023-4

Collaboration

IAA-CSIC - CORA - SODIS - OccultationPortal

J. L. Ortiz & M. Kretlow, IAA Granada

Last edited: December 08, 2023, 15:44