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A rare occultation of the bright star Betelgeuse by asteroid 319 Leona turned up mixed results.<\/em><\/p>\n In science and astronomy, sometimes a negative or subtle result can be as interesting as a positive one. That\u2019s just what occultation-chasers where confronted with this past Monday evening on the night of December 11th\/12th, when asteroid 319 Leona occulted (passed in front of) the +0.5 magnitude star Betelgeuse. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This was the most anticipated asteroid occultation of a bright star since 163 Erigone occulted Regulus on over the northeastern United States in 2014. Much like that event, Monday night\u2019s occultation was a hit-or-miss affair along the 142 kilometer-wide path in terms of clouds. The track of the \u2018asteroid\u2019s shadow\u2019 across the Earth crossed over the southern tip of Florida, the Atlantic and central Europe.<\/p>\n Nabbing an asteroid occultation usually means traveling to the path, and Monday night\u2019s event was no exception. It was hoped that observers would see Betelgeuse wink out for a dozen-odd seconds. A study of the resulting light curve could not only refine the shape and size of the asteroid, but help to say something about the diameter of Betelgeuse itself.<\/p>\n Plans were laid, and cameras and telescopes were at the ready for the best asteroid occultation of a bright star for 2023. But when the key moment came, observers saw nary a blip in brightness.<\/p>\n Well, almost <\/em>nothing. If you watch video recordings of the event, Betelgeuse did seem to quiver a bit at the key time.<\/p>\nThe Event<\/h2>\n
A Subtle Celestial Affair<\/h2>\n