David,
Thanks for the alert for this TNO !
There are a some us in ARPS who hope to observe this, and the more observers we have, the better the chances of a success.
If no occultation is recorded this is as important as a positive. From Oxfordshire the altitude is 12 degrees and with my mobile 8″ F/4 i should be able to reach this star in 0.5 sec on a CMOS mono camera (FITS is preferred by Pro-am). I will aim for a S/N of 5 at least, which is the minimum to clearly confirm a detection or not.
I have a rule-of-thumb (or eye), that provided the star image is above the noise (or transparency) threshold of the camera/scope and “visible” on the monitor throughout the recording period, this should provide the S/n desired. This can be tested by dropping the exposure down until the image is unclear and then increasing it enough to become a stable image. The mid-time for UK is 2218 UT and i would suggest recording for a minimum of 2 min either side (4 minutes in all). That would be about 240 FITS files. Test images on stars of mag 14 would be a guide.
Timing the frames can be done using the computer clock recently synched to NTP. Timing data will be put in the FITS header by the recording software.
Best of luck David, and to all observers,
Tim
Asteroids and Remote Planets Section (Occultations)