Occultations

Contributed by Guy Nason, Toronto Centre

How to Observe and Record an Asteroidal Occultation

There are four different methods that can be used to observe and make a record of an asteroidal occultation. Each has advantages and disadvantages and all have varying degrees of scientific value. They are:

  1. Simple Observation
  2. Stopwatch Method
  3. Radio and Tape Recorder
  4. Video Recording

If you are successful in making an observation then be sure to report your results.

1. Simple Observation

 

2. Stopwatch Method

 

3. Radio and Tape Recorder

 

4. Video Recording

 

If you can, try to use the Radio and Tape Recorder method or the video recording method. Whatever you choose, try to have more than one option available to you in the field. Murphy and his Law ("If something can go wrong, it will") just love occultations, so having a back-up system is always a good idea. If you choose to use the Radio-and-Recorder (R-and-R) Method, toss in a stopwatch or two just in case. Or you can start with stopwatches and later on move up to R-and-R or Video, but keep the watches in your kit. If you go whole hog to video, keep an audio tape recorder handy, just in case (you already have the s/w receiver, so falling back to R-and-R is pretty easy).

 


Author: 
walter.macdonald2@gmail.com
Last modified: 
Friday, March 26, 2021 - 9:26am