Upcoming Asteroid Occultations February 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:  Fri. Feb. 12, 2:15:20 AM
Star magnitude:  9.8.
Asteroid name:   (253) Mathilde
Toronto Altitude 37^O    Azimuth 249^O
Location closest path:  Over Toronto moving northwest
Links: website,   map

Toronto Date & Time:  Wed.  Feb.17.  8:24 PM
Star magnitude:  . 10.2
Asteroid name:   http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2016_02/0218_1721_36403.htm
Toronto Altitude 78^O    Azimuth  228^O
Location closest path:  Goes SE past Coburg
Links: website,   map