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Asteroid occultation
 
 
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An asteroid occultation occurs when an asteroid
Asteroid

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids....
 passes in front of a star
Star

A star is a massive, luminous ball of Plasma that is held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth....
 (occults
Occultation

An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The word is used in astronomy and can also be used in a general sense to describe when an object in the foreground occults objects in the background....
 a star), temporarily blocking its light (as seen from Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
). From any particular place such events occur almost every night, although most require a telescope
Telescope

A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects by the collection of electromagnetic radiation. The first known practically functioning telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century....
 to see.

Asteroid occultations are useful for measuring the size and position of asteroids much more precisely than can be done by any other means. A cross-sectional profile of the shape of an asteroid can even be determined if a number of observers at different, nearby, locations observe the occultation.

Occultations have produced outlines of many asteroids.






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An asteroid occultation occurs when an asteroid
Asteroid

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids....
 passes in front of a star
Star

A star is a massive, luminous ball of Plasma that is held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth....
 (occults
Occultation

An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The word is used in astronomy and can also be used in a general sense to describe when an object in the foreground occults objects in the background....
 a star), temporarily blocking its light (as seen from Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
). From any particular place such events occur almost every night, although most require a telescope
Telescope

A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects by the collection of electromagnetic radiation. The first known practically functioning telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century....
 to see.

Asteroid occultations are useful for measuring the size and position of asteroids much more precisely than can be done by any other means. A cross-sectional profile of the shape of an asteroid can even be determined if a number of observers at different, nearby, locations observe the occultation.

Occultations have produced outlines of many asteroids. Some notable ones include:
NameChordsSize (km)
704 Interamnia
704 Interamnia

'704 Interamnia' is a very large asteroid, with an estimated diameter of 350 kilometres. Its mean distance from the Sun is 3.067 . It was discovered on October 2, 1910 by Vincenzo Cerulli, and named after the Latin name for Teramo, Italy, where Cerulli worked....
35350×304
39 Laetitia
39 Laetitia

39 Laetitia is a large, bright main belt asteroid.Laetitia was discovered by Jean Chacornac on February 8, 1856 and named after Laetitia, a minor Roman mythology goddess of gaiety....
~16219×142
94 Aurora
94 Aurora

94 Aurora is one of the largest main belt asteroids. With an albedo of only 0.04, it is darker than soot, and has a primitive compositions consisting of carbonaecous material....
9225×173
375 Ursula
375 Ursula

375 Ursula is one of the largest Asteroid belt asteroids.It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on September 18, 1893 in Nice.Observations of an occultation on November 15, 1984, produced six Chord indicating an estimated diameter of 216?10 km....
6216±10
444 Gyptis
444 Gyptis

444 Gyptis is a very large Asteroid belt asteroid. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of carbonaceous chondrite.It was discovered by J?r?me Eug?ne Coggia on March 31, 1899 in Marseilles....
6179×150
48 Doris
48 Doris

'48 Doris' is one of the largest main belt asteroids. Doris was discovered by Hermann Mayer Salomon Goldschmidt on September 19, 1857 and named after Doris , an Oceanid in Greek mythology....
4278×142