Heads Up: Triton occultation on 5th October 2017

[John]

Apologies if info on this event has already been posted but, just in case it hasn't, I thought I'd post this "heads up".

This is apparently a rare event and one that, with some preparation, moderate or greater aperture and clear skies, might be observable. It may also be an interesting one for video astronomers as well

I've seen Neptune's moon Triton with both my 12" dobsonian and my 130mm refractor. It's not an easy target at magnitude 13.5 but it is possible to see it. At 23:48 hrs GMT on the 5-10-2017 Triton will occult a mag 12.7 (var) star. This should be visible from the UK.

The predictions are that the occulation will last around 2.5 minutes.

Here is a page from the website setup and run by Berkshire based Tim Haymes giving more information for those who are interested:

http://www.stargazer.me.uk/call4obs/NextEvent.htm

[MarsG76]

Thanks for the heads up... I wont be in the time zone to see it, but I'm intrigued about how you were able to see Triton... the most I've ever see with Neptune was a tiny disc with stars around it, but not even a hint of Triton... Good to know that you've seen it with a 12" dob and a 130mm frac... perhaps there is a chance for me to catch a glimpse of it.

 

[John]

19 minutes ago, MarsG76 said:

Thanks for the heads up... I wont be in the time zone to see it, but I'm intrigued about how you were able to see Triton... the most I've ever see with Neptune was a tiny disc with stars around it, but not even a hint of Triton... Good to know that you've seen it with a 12" dob and a 130mm frac... perhaps there is a chance for me to catch a glimpse of it.

 

I used quite high magnification, around 300x, and Triton was a tiny star-like object where Cartes du Ciel predicted it should be. It  I found it a little easier to see than the 2 Uranian moons that I've managed to spot, Titania and Oberon. These I've only seen with my 12" dob and mostly with averted vision rather than being able to hold them directly.

Interestingly, during the occultation, Triton is predicted to brighten as it's light is combined with that of the star that it is occulting. So for 2.5 minutes or so, it should be a little easier to spot

[MarsG76]

3 minutes ago, John said:

I used quite high magnification, around 300x, and Triton was a tiny star-like object where Cartes du Ciel predicted it should be. I found it a little easier to see than the 2 Uranian moons that I've managed to spot, Titania and Oberon. These I've only seen with my 12" dob and mostly with averted vision rather than being able to hold them directly.

Interestingly, during the occultation, Triton is predicted to brighten as it's light is combined with that of the star that it is occulting. So for 2.5 minutes or so, it should be a little easier to spot

something to aim for....

 

Still for the occultation, I'm 10 hours away, so It'll be long over by the time darkness sets here.

 

[triton1]

Thanks John it's about time I tried to see my namesake but I fear it won't be doable with the eps that I have.This is where having more eps in the shorter focal lengths come in handy.I can do 250x or 400x so maybe not enough or too much.Mmmm there is room in my ep case for one more but which one?

[niallk]

Thanks for the heads up 

I was thrilled to see Triton last year beside the small blue disk of Neptune

[Swoop1]

18 hours ago, triton1 said:

Thanks John it's about time I tried to see my namesake but I fear it won't be doable with the eps that I have.This is where having more eps in the shorter focal lengths come in handy.I can do 250x or 400x so maybe not enough or too much.Mmmm there is room in my ep case for one more but which one?

Branston? Eeeeew! Heinz for the win.

[Paz]

Thanks for posting this heads up. If i can string a few opportunitues to get familiar with Neptune and the area it will be in I will try and have a go at this.

Before that spotting Pluto is my solar system summer challenge.

[Stub Mandrel]

Branston Roolz!

The Happy Home of Marmite!

[alan potts]

I will try to have a look but from here it may not happen. BTW what focal length are the beans?

alan

[lukebl]

So, did anyone capture the occultation? I had intended to attempt some captures to produce a light curve, but figured that my focal length wasn't sufficient to get sufficient separation between Triton and Neptune for accurate measurements.

Anyway, here's a capture about 3 hours before the occultation. Neptune's in the middle, Triton is just above it, and the star UCAC4 410-143659 is just above Triton. This is a stack of just 20 x 3 second exposures, Atik 428ex, 250mm f/4.7 Newtonian. No darks or flats. I was pleased to note that the 12.7 mag star and 13.5 mag Triton were clearly visible in just 0.5 second exposures, even with a nearby full moon. The faintest stars visible in this image are about 16th mag.

[Owmuchonomy]

Thats a very informative capture.  Nice one.

[John]

I was observing last night and I did observe Neptune ...... but I forgot all about the occultation event

Nice image

[Mark at Beaufort]

Luke that is a great capture.