Lunar Occultations and Graze Line

[Duns]

Reading December's edition of Astronomy Now the Whats Up article for December describes Lunar occultations and specifically about the occultation of kappa Piscium on 30th December. The graze line passes directly over my place on the Mull Of Galloway. It may sound a daft question however here goes. Assuming no cloud problems what will I see with my Nexstar 130 SLT reflector.

I find it helps if you know what you are looking for:icon_scratch:

[TimH]

Hi Duns, I hadnt read your post, but to answer your question (in retrospect) an observer 2km North of the line would have seen a short occultation behind a mountain peak ( 10-30 sec? - I have limb profile). The star also grazed close to the cusp, ie the bright side. Did you follow it? Its not a daft question to be prepared !

I time occultations, Lunar and asteroids. Its all about preparation and luck that the weather holds or that equipment doesnt fail at the crucial moment. I think for Lunar graze occultations the choice of eyepiece (ie magnification) is important. It shoud be high enough to see the star clearly while keeping the rest of the Moon out of the field of view as much as possible, and being relaxed and seated at the eyepiece. - Cheers