Asteroid Occultation Astronomy with Richard Nolthenius

Asteroid Occultation Astronomy: a talk given to the Santa Cruz Astronomy Club by Dr. Richard Nolthenius, November 8, 2023 in Scotts Valley, California.
Dr. Richard Nolthenius, chair of the Astronomy department at Cabrillo College in Aptos, talks about asteroid occultations. An occultation is when an asteroid or other object momentarily blocks the light of a star. By recording precise timing and position of the event, valuable data can be obtained on the size, shape, and orbit of the object. This data can be obtained by amateurs with modest telescopes and equipment. NASA and other agencies use this information for space probes and planetary science. The shadow of an asteroid follows a narrow path on the Earth, and it can be fun and exciting to observe at the predicted place and time for the event. Dr. Nolthenius describes the science, technology, and analysis of occultations and the many adventures he has had traveling to observe them.

Richard Nolthenius home page : https://www.dr-ricknolthenius.com
Cabrillo College Astronomy YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cabrilloastro6262
Santa Cruz Astronomy Club: https://www.astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us
International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA): https://occultations.org

Chapters
00:00 Speaker Introduction
06:23 Why study occultations
13:48 Recording occultations
25:16 Phaethon
43:31 Quaoar and its rings
51:25 Eunomia
53:03 Eurybates
58:59 Binary asteroids: Arecibo
1:00:56 Didymos and Dimorphos
1:05:46 Repsolda
1:07:00 Pluto
1:14:17 Titania
1:17:37 Titan
1:19:01 Questions
1:21:13 Equipment
1:30:03 Asteroid Nolthenius
1:32:24 Achilles
1:33:08 Weather for Astronomers
1:36:49 Tycho Brahe

Видео Asteroid Occultation Astronomy with Richard Nolthenius канала interlace4evr