In mid- and late April 2012, three noteworthy asteroid occultation paths cross heavily populated areas of the U.S., as noted in the May Sky & Telescope, page 53:

• On the evening of April 12th, a 9.4-magnitude star near the head of Orion will be occulted by faint 849 Ara from southern Arkansas to South Carolina. The star should vanish for up to 3.5 seconds within several minutes of 1:13 April 13th Universal Time. Maps and details.

• On the night of April 23–24, a 9.0-magnitude star under the head of Virgo will be occulted by faint 49 Pales from southern New England and New York City through just north of the Great Lakes. The star should be blotted out for up to 14 seconds within several minutes of 4:54 April 24th Universal Time. Maps and details.

• On the evening of April 27th, a 9.7-magnitude star in Virgo will be occulted by small 1030 Vitja along a path from the New York City area though the northern Great Lakes for up to 6 seconds within several minutes of 1:57 April 28th UT. Maps and details.


Predictions for lots more such events worldwide are at www.asteroidoccultation.com/IndexAll.htm.

To learn about today's asteroid-occultation timing world and join the party, see Worldwide Asteroidal Occultation Observations and Resources. Video is now the standard method. For information on video recording and time extraction, see the "Equipment" heading.

For actual human advice and help, join the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) Yahoo discussion group, say hi, and ask for help.

Here are results of past timing campaigns (in the "Results of Observations" box at top).

Free e-book: Chasing the Shadow: The IOTA Occultation Observer’s Manual (the preview page).

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