Event predictions
This page presents a selection of "best" events. These are also available through the Occultation Portal.
Please check Occult Watcher Cloud, for details and updates, in the specific feed of the ACROSS campaign.
Here below you can find predictions for events by:
- The asteroid (65 803) Didymos. This is the main target of ACROSS, and the target of the DART/Hera first planetary defence missions.
The 9 potential secondary targets of Hera (ESA) in the next 5 years: (29 886) Randytung, (42 532) 1995 OR, (54 212) 2000 HJ89, (88 992) 2001 TJ72, (95 802) Francismuir, (122 764) 2000 SX69, (169 549) 2002 EG105, (188 708) 2005 TR99 and (477 416) 2009 WW1.
- NEAs with orbits that allow predictions with a decent probability of success, with a list of about 30 NEAs chosen according to their orbital quality (σa < 1e-9 au), size (D > 0.5 km) and presence in the Gaia DR3 database.
For each group, a table and images are published for the most accessible events in the following two months, and files with the full list of predicted events in XML format (produced by Occult) are shared at the end. It should be noted that, due to the low number of restrictions we apply in the XML files, they may have more than 20 000 events, in particular the general NEA files. 20 000 is the standard limit of events for Occult, as it claims that the processes involving a larger amount of events can slow down significantly. However, it is possible to raise this limit up to 100 000, the maximum Occult allows. To do that, it is necessary to enter the "Maintenance" section, choose "User Settings", go to "11. Asteroid occultations - Search and Display", where you can edit the limit. If necessary, the team can also provide smaller files upon request, for those who choose to keep this limit.
By accessible, we mean events with:
- Star Magnitude (Mv) <= 14.0;
- Maximum Duration (s) >= 0.2 (for the general NEA only);
- Path crosses significant amount of landmass on Earth's surface (not just oceans);
- Solar Elongation >= 45º;
- For the more general NEA events only, whether the path uncertainty is less than 5x the object's Diameter.
The tables have the essential information of each event: date, target asteroid's permanent number and name, target star's catalogue name and number, RA/Dec coordinates and Mv magnitude, and quantities related to the event, such as expected drop (in magnitudes), maximum duration (in seconds) and the general area of the globe where the event is visible. Also contained the Occu;t Map for every event. For the most promising Didymos events (red lines) and when requested by observers, the last column holds the .kmz file of the event with the predicted path and the topographic corrections applied.
IMPORTANT: The .xml tables are only propagated once for the whole month for simplicity, while all the events displayed here and in OWC have been propagated to the date of occultation. So the maps in the xml and these images may not match perfectly. If you are insterested in observing an event not included in OWC or this website, please contact the ACROSS team, in order to have access to the most precise map we can get for it.
Interesting events in the near future
Didymos
| Date | Star | RA | Dec | Conditions | Zone | Map | .kmz | |||||||
| Catalogue | Number | h | m | s | d | m | s | Mv | Drop | Duration | ||||
| 07/14/2024 | UCAC4 | 311-134910 | 17 | 56 | 53 | -27 | -56 | -2 | 12,9 | 6 | 0.10 | Europe |  |
|
| 07/14/2024 | G | 175540.4-275805 | 17 | 55 | 40 | -27 | -58 | -5 | 13,7 | 0,7 | 0.25 | Japan |  |
|
| 07/15/2024 | UCAC4 | 311-132753 | 17 | 54 | 35 | -27 | -59 | -43 | 13,5 | 5,5 | 0.11 | Africa |  |
|
| 07/16/2024 | UCAC4 | 310-135840 | 17 | 52 | 40 | -28 | -2 | -45 | 13,2 | 5,7 | 0.11 | South America |  |
|
| 07/18/2024 | UCAC4 | 310-133005 | 17 | 49 | 3 | -28 | -8 | -17 | 12,6 | 6,4 | 0.12 | South America |  |
|
| 07/18/2024 | UCAC4 | 310-132943 | 17 | 48 | 54 | -28 | -8 | -45 | 13 | 6 | 0.11 | North America |  |
|
| 07/22/2024 | UCAC4 | 309-128374 | 17 | 41 | 48 | -28 | -18 | -9 | 12,6 | 6,5 | 0.12 | Australia |  |
|
| 07/23/2024 | UCAC4 | 309-127974 | 17 | 40 | 41 | -28 | -19 | -46 | 12,4 | 6,7 | 0.12 | North America |  |
|
| 07/23/2024 | UCAC4 | 309-127774 | 17 | 39 | 58 | -28 | -20 | -21 | 12,2 | 6,8 | 0.13 | Australia |  |
|
| 07/23/2024 | TYC | 6839-00256-1 | 17 | 39 | 53 | -28 | -20 | -24 | 12,1 | 7 | 0.13 | Australia |  |
|
| 07/27/2024 | TYC | 6838-00953-1 | 17 | 33 | 40 | -28 | -27 | -40 | 11,3 | 7,9 | 0.15 | Africa |  |
|
| 07/31/2024 | UCAC4 | 308-129869 | 17 | 29 | 35 | -28 | -31 | -47 | 12,1 | 7,1 | 0.21 | North America |  |
|
| 08/06/2024 | TYC | 6837-00409-1 | 17 | 23 | 44 | -28 | -37 | -42 | 12 | 7,3 | 0.26 | North America |  |
|
| 08/07/2024 | UCAC4 | 307-123041 | 17 | 23 | 14 | -28 | -38 | -7 | 13,6 | 5,8 | 0.28 | South America |  |
|
| 08/10/2024 | UCAC4 | 307-122428 | 17 | 21 | 12 | -28 | -40 | -55 | 14,2 | 5,2 | 0.43 | Australia |  |
|
| 08/10/2024 | UCAC4 | 307-122440 | 17 | 21 | 17 | -28 | -40 | -49 | 13,5 | 5,9 | 0.42 | Australia |  |
|
| 08/13/2024 | TYC | 6837-00463-1 | 17 | 20 | 10 | -28 | -43 | -14 | 9,9 | 9,5 | 0.80 | Australia |  |
|
| 08/27/2024 | UCAC4 | 306-128451 | 17 | 22 | 60 | -28 | -55 | -6 | 12,6 | 7 | 0.29 | North America |  |
|
| 08/29/2024 | UCAC4 | 306-129186 | 17 | 25 | 3 | -28 | -57 | -40 | 12,7 | 6,9 | 0.23 | South America |  |
|
Other Didymos events for June-July in XML format for Occult ( ~2000 in total).
See dedicated page for the event on January 21-22, 2023 !
Potential Hera secondary Targets
This is a period when most asteroids, secondary targets of the Hera mission, are behind the Sun. As a result, there is a lack of promising events for the coming months (May-June 2024). When the time comes again to observe occultations from these targets we will make sure to provide the corresponding predictions. In the meantime you can check occultations from the other categories of targets that the ACROSS team is working on.
Clear Skies
The ACROSS team
Other NEAs
| Date | Asteroid | Star | RA | Dec | Conditions | Zone | Map | ||||||||
| Number | Name | Catalogue | Number | h | m | s | d | m | s | Mv | Drop | Duration | |||
| 07/05/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 337-172282 | 18 | 47 | 31 | -22 | -40 | -24 | 11,4 | 6,4 | 0.22 | Australia |  |
| 07/06/2024 | 1036 | Ganymed | TYC | 3143-01367-1 | 19 | 31 | 1 | 42 | 16 | 59 | 11,3 | 0,5 | 3.18 | Europe |  |
| 07/07/2024 | 1036 | Ganymed | TYC | 3143-00663-1 | 19 | 30 | 37 | 43 | 4 | 38 | 10,8 | 0,7 | 3.29 | Australia |  |
| 07/18/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 335-163838 | 18 | 27 | 13 | -23 | 0 | -57 | 13,3 | 4,8 | 0.22 | Australia |  |
| 07/19/2024 | 1036 | Ganymed | UCAC4 | 693-067630 | 19 | 26 | 34 | 48 | 29 | 15 | 11,1 | 0,5 | 4.53 | Europe |  |
| 07/20/2024 | 1036 | Ganymed | TYC | 3547-00198-1 | 19 | 26 | 25 | 48 | 38 | 33 | 11,6 | 0,3 | 4.59 | North America |  |
| 07/21/2024 | 4660 | Nereus | UCAC4 | 331-085169 | 16 | 41 | 23 | -23 | -49 | -7 | 13,5 | 8 | 0.11 | Australia |  |
| 07/22/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 335-151815 | 18 | 21 | 11 | -23 | -5 | -20 | 13,2 | 4,9 | 0.21 | Australia |  |
| 07/26/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 335-140676 | 18 | 15 | 0 | -23 | -9 | -5 | 12 | 6,2 | 0.23 | South America, Africa |  |
| 07/27/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 335-140504 | 18 | 14 | 49 | -23 | -9 | -11 | 13,1 | 5,1 | 0.22 | South America |  |
| 07/28/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 335-139210 | 18 | 12 | 59 | -23 | -10 | -6 | 12,8 | 5,4 | 0.33 | Australia |  |
| 07/29/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 335-138077 | 18 | 10 | 58 | -23 | -11 | -11 | 13,5 | 4,8 | 0.23 | Europe |  |
| 08/04/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 334-133291 | 18 | 4 | 41 | -23 | -13 | -40 | 13,3 | 5 | 0.34 | South America |  |
| 08/07/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | TYC | 6842-01846-1 | 18 | 0 | 37 | -23 | -15 | -4 | 11,2 | 7,1 | 0.30 | Europe |  |
| 08/11/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 334-129075 | 17 | 57 | 21 | -23 | -15 | -58 | 10,4 | 8 | 0.35 | North America |  |
| 08/23/2024 | 4179 | Toutatis | UCAC4 | 334-124570 | 17 | 50 | 12 | -23 | -18 | -15 | 12,4 | 6,1 | 0.91 | South America |  |
| 08/30/2024 | 1036 | Ganymed | TYC | 3938-01581-1 | 19 | 40 | 43 | 55 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 0,3 | 8.95 | North America |  |
Other NEA targets' events for May-Junein XML format for Occult (~5000 in total, caution with Occult limit!).
