Anyone interested it trying for this one? I can't get to it from my home observatory so I'm hoping to try from SPOC. Note that for this area it's predicted to happen tomorrow (Sunday) at 0617 UT which puts it at 1217 a.m. MDT. Should you decide to try it from SPOC please let me know so I'll know to expect you. patrick The following is excerpted from a message from David Dunham:
Help us measure the size and shape of the largish asteroid (140) Siwa when it occults a 11.2-mag. star in Capricornus Sat. night/ Sun. am, Aug. 8/9, 6:14 - 6:20 UT (Aug. 9 UT), Winnipeg to Salt Lake City & central California. Clear skies are forecast from n. Utah to the Pacific coast. ______________________
Aug. 8/9, Siwa: This mid-weekend event has a wide path passing over Winnipeg (near the expected s. limit at 6:14 UT = 1:14 am CDT), w. N. Dakota at 6:15 UT, over much of Wyoming at 6:16 UT (12:16 am MDT), over n. Utah including Salt Lake City at 6:17 UT, over part of Nevada at 6:18 UT (11:18 pm PDT Sat. Aug. 8), and over Fresno (near n. limit; Bakersfield is near the s. limit) at 6:19 UT. The star's red mag. is 10.7, so it should be recordable reasonably well with 80mm shorty (or "midi") refractor systems. The star, TYC 6342-01234-1, is in Capricornus at J2000 RA 20h 34m 35.5s, Dec -21 deg. 11' 07". Finder charts of different scales, a path map, and other details are at Steve Preston's Web page for the event at http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2009_08/0809_140_17812.htm .
Astro Meteo forecasts clear skies from n. Utah to the Pacific Coast.