The International Occultation Timing Association

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Information Site for Lunar Occultations & Grazes

Last Updated 16 March 2024
WARNING! Information and e-mail addresses contained herein, are for scientific use only. By entering this site, you agree that you will use this data only for lawful purposes and that, under no circumstances will you use this data to: allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via direct mail, electronic mail, or by telephone.


MISSION STATEMENT

  • We encourage, promote and facilitate the observation of occultations and eclipses
  • We provide predictions for grazing occultations of stars by the Moon
    and predictions for occultations of stars by asteroids and planets
  • We also provide information on observing equipment and techniques,
    and we report to our members about observations made
IOTA GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

  • To promote scientific research and discovery using occultation related methods
  • To conduct research at the local, regional and international level
    and to publish results of studies in popular and scientific journals
  • To stimulate public awareness of astronomical phenomena such as (but not limited to) solar and lunar eclipses and occultations of stars by minor planets, the Moon, and other solar system bodies
  • To improve lunar profile data through timing of grazing and total occultations
  • To determine shapes and sizes of minor planets and comets through timing of occultations of stars by these objects
  • To discover evidence of new, and confirm characteristics of previously discovered, satellites/companions of minor planets


The Value of Lunar Occultation Timings and Observations (D Dunham, D Herald, M Soma)

The Value of Graze Occultation Timings and Observations (Mitsuru Soma - YouTube Video)


Worldwide Upcoming Bright Star Occultation Events

Observers are encouraged to download the Occult software
to generate predictions for their areas, of fainter occultations

Check "Regional Information on Events" below for more information on occultation/graze events for local circumstances

How to read the country codes and prediction format

15 Mar - Occultation of η Tau - 2.9m - Hawaii
11 Apr - Occultation of η Tau - 2.9m - s India
11 Apr - Occultation of 27 Tau - 3.6m - sw Middle East, w India
20 Apr - Occultation of β Vir - 3.6m - e Europe, w Asia
21 Apr - Occultation of η Vir - 3.9m - w Indonesia, w Australia
26 Apr - Occultation of α Sco - 1.1m - Middle East, s India, Indonesia
05 May - Occultation of Mars - 1.1m - Madagascar
10 May - Occultation of β Tau - 1.7m - se Africa, Madagascar
12 May - Occultation of ι Gem - 3.8m - Madagascar
18 May - Occultation of β Vir - 3.6m - USA, Canada
24 May - Occultation of α Sco - 1.1m - se USA, Caribbeans, Central America, w Africa
26 May - Occultation of τ Sag - 3.3m - Australia
31 May - Occultation of Saturn - 1.2m - s South America
01 Jun - Occultation of Neptune - 7.9m - s South Africa, Madagascar
14 Jun - Occultation of β Vir - 3.6m - e Asia
16 Jun - Occultation of α Vir - 1.0m - w Asia
23 Jun - Occultation of Ceres - 7.5m - e Canada, central & e USA, ne Mexico, Caribbeans
27 Jun - Occultation of Saturn - 1.1m - e Australia, New Zealand
28 Jun - Occultation of Neptune - 7.9m - nw South America
11 Jul - Occultation of β Vir - 3.6m - w Africa, ne South America

2024 Predictions

Concerning 2023 IOTA Predictions Must Read(pdf format)
Concerning 2024 IOTA Predictions Must Read(pdf format)
2024 Worldwide Total Occultations of Bright Stars
2024 Occultation of Planets by the Moon
2024 Total Occultations of Bright Stars for 40 North American Cities
2024 North America Graze Tables and Maps - D. Dunham
Eclipse Maps and Weather

Asteroid Occultation Information

Steve Preston's World Wide Prediction Site
Derek Breit's Regional Asteroid Path Maps for USA
North American Asteroidal Reference Homepage
Asteroidal Occultation Results for North America
Worldwide Results Home Page
Report Form For Asteroid Observations
Japanese Astroidal Prediction Site (Japanese)
Japanese Astroidal Results (English)

Lunar Impacts and IOTA

NASA/Marshall main lunar impacts Web site
B. Cudnik's ALPO lunar meteor impacts Web site
D. Dunham's Impact Page (historical, 1999 & 2001, & earlier efforts)

Helpful Information

I.O.T.A.'s Primary Site
I.O.T.A. Membership Application
IOTAoccultations@groups.io - Discussion Maillist
"Chasing the Shadow: The IOTA Occultation Observer's Manual
The Occultation Observer's Handbook by Robinson & Povenmire
NWS Current Weather & Forecasts
Time Conversion Tables - UTC to Local for USA
World Time Zone Map
IOTA Annual Meeting Minutes

Occult Software and Related Information

Occult Prediction Software
Tips for using Occult by David Dunham (pdf file)
Lunar Report Generator
Occult/IOTA Groups.io - Discussion Maillist
How to Use Occult 4 to Predict Comet Occultations
The ZC Star Catalog (not to be interfaced with Occult)
Expanded Site Files (updated file on 21 Aug 2023)

OccultWatcher Software

Basics of Total Occultations

Basic Information and How to Obtain Predictions
BeeperSync - An Alternative WWV Internet Based Timing Source
How to Report Observations
The Prediction Format for Total Occultations - [pdf format]
The Value of Total Lunar Occultations
Timing & Location Accuracies for Observations

Basics of Grazing Occultations

The Grazing Occultation
IOTA Standard Stations
North American city coordinates
Archive of Observed Graze Profile Reductions

Regional Information on Events - (external links)

Mid-Atlantic Occultations - D. Dunham
Kansas-Missouri Area - R. Sandy
Upper Midwest- MN, IA, ND, SD and WI
San Francisco Bay Area - D. Breit
Arizona and Surrounding Area - D. Dunham
Central America/South America (in Spanish)
Brazil by Breno Loureiro Giacchini (in Portuguese)

If you have a local URL for your area, send information to the webmaster for inclusion

Use of Video on Timing Events

A Light Weight Portable Video Setup - by R. Nugent
Richard Nugent's System - by D. Dunham
Tom Heisey's Video Setup (PDF)
"Millisecond Video Timing for the Masses" by S. Herchak
Finding Limiting Mag for Visual/Video Camera Observations

KIWI-OSD and IOTA-VTI Time Inserters

LiMovie measurement tool for video occultations (the most stable version)

Miscellaneous Stuff
I.O.T.A. Tax Information/Expense Report [pdf format]
Additional Reference Reading Material


StarAward


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This site maintained for IOTA by Rob Robinson, Bonner Springs KS
Send comments and mail to Webmaster
Send comments and mail to I.O.T.A. President, Steve Preston
IOTA Administration, email I.O.T.A.

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Since January 1997

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