Upcoming Asteroid Occultations April 2016

Sometimes objects like the moon, planets or asteroids move in front of a star. An observer in the right location can see the star disappear or dim for a few seconds then brighten again. The occultation path across the Earth is roughly the width of the asteroid. The chart below lists several asteroid occultations over the next month which will be visible near Toronto. The Location column gives an idea of how far the nearer edge of the predicted occultation path is from downtown Toronto. The links have maps for observers in Canada/US, as well as finder charts, coordinates, brightness of the target star, etc. Learn more about asteroids and how to time occultations.

If a link does not work, search for the asteroid name and “occultation”.

Toronto Date & Time:  Thurs.Apr. 7 at 2:53 AM
Star magnitude:  9.8.
Asteroid name:   (425) Cornelia
Toronto Altitude 22^O    Azimuth 155^O
Location closest path:  Path goes westward just north of Toronto.
Links: website,   map

Toronto Date & Time:  Mon.. Apr.18. at 10:06 PM
Star magnitude: 11.9
Asteroid name: 589 Croatia
Toronto Altitude 33^O    Azimuth  257^O
Location closest path:  Goes  eastward  just south of  Toronto
Links: website,   map