Occultation of Mercury: October 28, 2011

The third and final occultation of 2011, Mercury's occultation this October 28, 2011 will be an astronomical treat for those in Australia, New Zealand, & southern Oceania. Although it was a true fact that each of these occultations this year (2011) were poor to view, 2012 brings yet another smorgasbord of events, as listed at the end of this article.

"It will be observable after sunset from French Polynesia," the Transits Page writes in correspondence of the event. From there, the whole southern Oceanic hemisphere, centered in Australia & New Zealand, will see Mercury occult, right through the center of the Moon. This is a "central one," referring that Mercury will pass through the center of the Moon. Basic information is below.

Greatest Occultation = 2011-Oct-28 02:11:32 TT

Occulted Planet = Mercury

Occultation Series = 7560

Member = 1 of 1

Elongation from Sun = 18° E

Moon illuminated fraction = 2 %

Lunar Magnitude = -5.9

Planetary Magnitude = -0.3

Gamma = -0.21966

Gr. Longitude = 158° 31.4' E

Gr. Latitude = 32° 43.0' S

Gr. Duration = 94m 10.3s

ΔT = 66.64s

Credit: the Transits Page

This occultation occurs in the 7560 series (similar to the Saros of eclipses), and will be the best to view. Mars' Tahitian occultation in July, and Venus' Mediterranean occultation in June both occurred with poor lunar conditions, but the moon will only be two percent illuminated this time! Mercury will pass swiftly - starting on the 27th of October at 23:56 UT and ending on the 28th at 04:24 UT - four hours and twenty-eight minutes total. Below is a picture of Mercury's entrance and exit passage at the green dot in the above picture (in between Australia and New Zealand).

Credit: Transits Page

Local Circumstances—Greatest Occutation

Longitude = 160° 42' 51" E

Latitude =  32° 08' 34" S

Elevation = 0m.

Greatest Occultation = 2011-Oct-28 02:16:20.4 UT

Altitude =  77.8°

Azimuth = 353.7°

  

            Calendar Date and Time          Planet           Sun     Limb

                Universal Time         Azi    Alt    PA      Alt      PA

Ingress    2011-Oct-28 01:29:10.9 d   39.2°  74.8°  102.4°   69.7°  290.8°

Egress     2011-Oct-28 03:03:56.2 b  311.7°  72.9°  287.7°   56.0°  290.4°

Duration    94m 45.3s

Mercury's occultation is hoped to be great - so watch the Moon, if you live in the area of occultation!

Occultation of Mars: July 27, 2011

After Venus occulted over the Mediterranean last month, it's time for Mars to take the stage. Although 2011 is somewhat of a bad year for occultation viewing, Mars will still be occulted. But don't get your hope up! People here in America won't be able to see it. On July 27, 2011 at 16:50:54 UT over the Pacific and parts of South America. Specifically, this occultation will be viewed from the French Polynesia, Chile, Peru, and Argentina, but won't be anything impressive."The good thing about this occultation is that the Moon is only 16% illuminated. This means minimal lunar interference," AstronomyLive.com encourages.

Courtesy Occult 4.0

Courtesy: Stellarium

"This is second of totally three occultations for the year, and is also a central one. Occultation is the longest for the year, though maximum duration occurs over the Pacific Ocean. It will be observable before sunrise from French Polynesia," the Transits page writes about the occultation.Basic information about the event is listed below:

Greatest Occultation = 2011-Jul-27 16:50:54 TT

Occulted Planet = Mars

Occultation Series = 5418

Member = 1 of 1

Elongation from Sun = 39° W

Moon illuminated fraction = 11 %

Lunar Magnitude = -7.4

Planetary Magnitude = +1.4

Gamma = -0.50124

Gr. Longitude = 114° 11.2' W

Gr. Latitude =   6° 28.6' S

Gr. Duration = 113m 14.3s

ΔT = 66.56s

Greatest Occultation = 2011-Jul-27 16:49:49.7 UT

Altitude =  59.9°

Azimuth =   3.2°

            Calendar Date and Time          Planet           Sun     Limb

                Universal Time         Azi    Alt    PA      Alt      PA

Ingress    2011-Jul-27 15:53:07.8 b   26.9°  56.1°   93.3°   27.8°   88.2°

Egress     2011-Jul-27 17:46:22.1 d  338.5°  57.6°  278.7°   51.5°   88.4°

Duration   113m 14.3s

Courtesy: the TransitsPage

The Timing of the Occultation

Tahiti will view the occultation best tomorrow, when Mars disappears behind the aged moon, timed at approximately 15:53 UT, twelve degrees over the horizon. "When the Moon occulting a planet is in waxing phase, the disappearance of the planet will start at the dark side of the Moon with the reappearance at the sunlit side," AstronomyLive writes. Mars will shine at magnitude +1.2, so it will be easier to see Mars be occulted than come out of occultation (be visible 17:46 Universal Time for Tahiti at dawn). If you live elsewhere, use the calculator to compute times.

Let the occultation begin...and be a spectacle!