Folks,
My initial thoughts after successfully observing the occultation last night:
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Through hazy skies, we (myself and Alex Pratt) had a successful observation of the occultation of Betelgeuse from just south of Alicante, near the airport.
My personal thoughts from visually observing it are:
Skies consisted of variable levels of haze, which made the observation more challenging (and head-wrecking) that I would have liked.
The dimming was not sudden like a typical occultation, but rather quite gradual which appeared to take approx 2-3 seconds.
The star appeared to dim by approx 1 to 2 magnitudes – quite noticeable.
The rise was more difficult to detect visually due to the haze.
I was expecting it to remain at its faintest magnitude for a period of time, and was surprised to see it brightening almost immediately after reaching minimum magnitude.
Attached is a handheld photo of Orion taken during the event with an iphone.
Also attached is a screenshot of a lightcurve taken with my Watec 910 HX/RC and 40mm f/4.5 apo with Bessel V filter.
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Regards,
Michael
