Uncertainty in the position of the asteroid shadow track

[Richard Miles]

I suspect that this could be much larger than depicted on the supplied map and that observers much further afield should try to observe this very bright star disappear momentarily (for up to 2 seconds). Asteroid occultations of ‘naked-eye’ stars visible from the UK are extremely rare and so, if clear, I recommend observers trying for this. Use optical aid, or better still video recording, together with as large an aperture telescope or other optical aid as is convenient. Naturally timing the disappearance and reappearance would be good, and do remember that the asteroid may actually be multiple (we do not know this however) and so watch out for the star to potentially disappear TWICE – you never know.