Click here to find out if an occultation will happen near your location!
After you’ve participated in an occultation campaign, we invite you to fill out this form in function of your zone : USA form, Europe form. It will enable us to take your observations into account more easily.
Unistellar is also launching a beta Planetary Defense program, check out the dedicated section to find out how you can participate.
Are you willing to contribute to citizen science with your eVscope for one of these campaigns? Please send us an email at citizenscience@unistellaroptics.com
Dear Citizen Astronomers,
Enjoy our new asteroid program. Take your chance and maybe, like Mario, in Austria, you will be able to say “I caught an asteroid!!!”
It is an astronomical event defined by the passage of an object in front of a star. The star is completely or partially obscured.
To participate in scientific missions that study the asteroids around us and perhaps help discover the origins of life!
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | Date | Occultation Time | Alt | Direction | Constellation | Where to Observe It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991TF1 | Main-Belt | On the night December 14th to 15th | 22:46 WET* 23:46 CET* | 30° | S | Monoceros | Portugal, Spain, France, Italy etc Map |
For your information :
WET* concerned UK and Portugal
CET* concerned France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland etc…
| Asteroid Name | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991TF1 | 07h 28m 05s | -02° 23' 08" | 500 ms | 45 dB | 06m30s |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | Date | Occultation Time | Alt | Direction | Constellation | Where to Observe It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 930 Westphalia | Main-belt | On the night December 14th to 15th | 21:06 WET* 22:06 CET* | 65° | 0 | Pisces | France, Belgium, UK etc Map |
For your information :
WET* concerned UK and Portugal
CET* concerned France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland etc…
| Asteroid Name | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 930 Westphalia | 01h 24m 46s | +31° 04' 42" | 500 ms | 45 dB | 05m00s |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | Date | Occultation Time | Alt | Direction | Constellation | Where to Observe It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002RC184 | Main-Belt | On the night December 15th to 16th | 00:47 CET | 45° | O | Triangulum | Spain, France, Germany etc Map |
For your information :
WET* concerned UK and Portugal
CET* concerned France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland etc…
| Asteroid Name | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002RC184 | 02h 37m 59s | +35° 35' 46" | 200 ms | 40 dB | 03m30s |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | Date | Occultation Time | Alt | Direction | Constellation | Where to Observe It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2587 Gardner | Main-belt | On the night December 15th to 16th | 20:54* WET 21:54 CET* | 35° | O | Pisces | Portugal, Spain, France, Germany etc Map |
| Asteroid Name | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2587 Gardner | 01h 09m 30s | +04° 38' 33" | 500 ms | 40 dB | 09m00s |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | Date | Occultation Time | Alt | Direction | Constellation | Where to Observe It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997WK45 | Main-Belt | On the night December 17th to 18th | 19:23 WET* 20:23 CET* | 40° | E-S | Gemini | Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Asutria etc Map |
For your information :
WET* concerned UK and Portugal
CET* concerned France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland etc…
| Asteroid Name | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997WK45 | 07h 21m 27s | +23° 42' 09" | 200 ms | 40 dB | 03m30s |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | Date | Occultation Time | Alt | Direction | Constellation | Where to Observe It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009WY245 | Jupiter Trojan | On the night December 17th to 18th | 19:33 WET* 20:33 CET* | 65° | S-O | Triangulum | Spain, France, Netherlands, UK, Sweden etc Map |
For your information :
WET* concerned UK and Portugal
CET* concerned France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland etc…
| Asteroid Name | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009WY245 | 01h 58m 42s | +26° 49' 12" | 200 ms | 35 dB | 04m30s |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | Date | Time Launch (EST) | Time Launch (CST) | Time Launch (MST) | Time launch (PST) | Where to observe it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 746 Marlu | Main Belt | On the night of December 12nd to 13rd | 00:25 | 23:28 | 22:30 | 21:32 | Map |
| Asteroid Name | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 746 Marlu | 03h 42m 36s | +42° 40' 18" | 500 ms | 45 dB | 05m00s |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | Date | Time Launch (EST) | Time Launch (CST) | Time Launch (MST) | Time launch (PST) | Where to observe it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8136 Landis | Main Belt | On the night of December 14th to 15th | 22:32 | 21:35 | 20:37 | 19:38 | Map |
| Asteroid Name | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8136 Landis | 06h 40m 50s | +17° 57' 27" | 300 ms | 50 dB | 05m00s |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | Date | Time Launch (EST) | Time Launch (CST) | Time Launch (MST) | Time launch (PST) | Where to observe it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1365 Henyey | Main Belt | On the night of December 15th to 16th | 23:54 | 22:59 | 22:02 | 21:04 | Map |
| Asteroid Name | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1365 Henyey | 06h 54m 15s | +20° 25' 09" | 200 ms | 40 dB | 07m30s |
| Asteroid Name | Date | Time Launch (EST) | Time Launch (CST) | Time Launch (MST) | Time launch (PST) | Where to observe it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4618 Shakhovskoj | On the night of December 15th to 16th | 21:34 | 20:42 | 19:46 | 18:47 | Map |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4618 Shakhovskoj | Main-Belt | 07h 10m 12s | +42° 42' 30" | 500 ms | 45 dB | 10m30s |
| Asteroid Name | Date | Time Launch (EST) | Time Launch (CST) | Time Launch (MST) | Time launch (PST) | Where to observe it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001RF11 | On the night of December 16th to 17th | 20:30 | 19:23 | 18:17 | 17:12 | Map |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001RF11 | Main-Belt | 00h 58m 39s | +10° 14' 23" | 500 ms | 40 dB | 10m30s |
| Asteroid Name | Date | Time Launch (EST) | Time Launch (CST) | Time Launch (MST) | Time launch (PST) | Where to observe it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 326 Tamara | On the night of December 16th to 17th | 23:35 | 22:38 | 21:47 | 21:10 | Map |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 326 Tamara | Main-Belt | 01h 08m 54s | +12° 49' 56" | 500 ms | 45 dB | 03m30s |
| Asteroid Name | Date | Time Launch (EST) | Time Launch (CST) | Time Launch (MST) | Time launch (PST) | Where to observe it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 326 Tamara | On the night of December 16th to 17th | 23:35 | 22:38 | 21:47 | 21:10 | Map |
| Asteroid Name | Asteroid Type | RA | Dec | Exposure Time | Gain | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 326 Tamara | Main-Belt | 01h 08m 54s | +12° 49' 56" | 500 ms | 45 dB | 03m30s |
Here is what Morand, one of Unistellar’s first citizen astronomers, wrote about his detection of asteroid 2000 UD52:
When I received this occultation “mission”, I was a little confused. It seemed quite simple, the event was known, so no chance discovery by amateurs … But hey, I played the game. I had just received the telescope.
Excited but a little late as always, I followed the procedure and … I saw nothing … However, I sent the data. And, a few days later, I learned that the occultation was clearly visible on the data, that I was the only Unistellar to have observed it, and that the scientific value was real : the occultation was very brief, 0.3s (the predicted maximum was 0.8s), therefore particularly difficult considering the small size of the asteroid (~ 6.6 km) and the width of its centrality band.
Having observers near and into the centrality band will allow to better determine the position of the asteroid, and therefore to refine its orbit ! What a feeling !
Here is what Morand, one of Unistellar’s first citizen astronomers, wrote about his detection of asteroid 2000 UD52:
When I received this occultation “mission”, I was a little confused. It seemed quite simple, the event was known, so no chance discovery by amateurs … But hey, I played the game. I had just received the telescope.
Excited but a little late as always, I followed the procedure and … I saw nothing … However, I sent the data. And, a few days later, I learned that the occultation was clearly visible on the data, that I was the only Unistellar to have observed it, and that the scientific value was real : the occultation was very brief, 0.3s (the predicted maximum was 0.8s), therefore particularly difficult considering the small size of the asteroid (~ 6.6 km) and the width of its centrality band.
Having observers near and into the centrality band will allow to better determine the position of the asteroid, and therefore to refine its orbit ! What a feeling !
To observe this flyby, you need to calculate by yourself, the ephemeris.
An ephemeris ? What is it ?
It is a table or a data file which give you the position of a celestial event in function of the time. Thanks to it, you can know where is the asteroid when you want to observe.
For doing that :
Check this complete how to guide on how to catch one with your Unistellar eVscope.
✔️ Check the weather
We suggest you use the clearoutside app or website.
(see p.13 in the User Manual link)
✔️ Clear the memory of your eVscope
WARNING : this step can take up to 30 minutes – 2 hours depending on your Internet connection.
(p.7 in the User Manual link)
✔️ Charge the battery of your eVscope
✔️ Look for updates the Unistellar application (Apple and Android stores).
✔️ Level the tripod and install your eVscope
Turn it on, connect it to your phone and you are ready to start !
(see p.16 in the User Manual link)
✔️ Check the accuracy of the time on your phone
Use the Time.is website : https://time.is/
(see p.9 in the User Manual link)
Capture a screenshot of your phone
✔️ Connect your phone to the eVscope and launch the application
The application will synchronize its time on your phone, so it is important you start the application AFTER having used time.is as indicates here.
✔️ Launch Autonomous Field Detection
So that your eVscope knows precisely how to go to the occulted star.
(see p.18 in the User Manual link)
✔️ Focus
By pointing one of the first stars recommended by the app and using the Bahtinov Mask.
(see p.23 in the User Manual link)
✔️ Optional step : collimation
If your stars look like “potatoes” and have elongated shape, you need to collimate your mirror.
Check then this article from our FAQ : https://unistellaroptics.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002267334-Collimation
(see p.21 in the User Manual link)
In the “Target” field enter the RA/DEC parameters and press GOTO 15 min before the beginning of the occultation.
In the “recording” tab enter the Gain, Exposure and Duration parameters, check again your values and click on “Launch” at the start time.
Note: Once the recording has started, you can now switch back to the eVscope tab in order to try to see the occultation in real time. Please note that this is a really difficult event to catch on camera.
Do not activate Enhanced Vision during recording: it will damage your data.
🏡 Once at home :
✔️ Transfer your data
Once recording is over, please transfer your data. (If you need help please check : https://help.unistellar.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013803619-eVscope-Data-Storage-Memory-Downloading-and-Uploading-Data )
✔️ Tell Unistellar that you participated
To make sure your contribution is properly processed, please fill out this very short survey by telling us your name, the serial number of your eVscope and if you agree that your name can be mentioned in the EURASTER report on their website (keep in mind to prove the accuracy of your observation, its GPS coordinates will be published too).
Detections and observations of asteroid occultations coming from the Unistellar network are published on the Euraster website:
– Detection confimed for asteroid 2000 UD52
– Observation of asteroid 2011 KT19
– Observation of asteroid Cebriones
Join our Planetary Defense Mission for December!
Your target this month is the newly discovered near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 2020 SO. It flew by Earth on December 1st and came about 13% of the distance between Earth and our Moon! (31,000 miles or 50,000 kilometers away)
This is a fascinating target for December because of the uncertainty surrounding its origin, and the fact that its orbit may have considerably changed after its flyby.
2020 SO is a challenging target! To observe it, you will need to:
Together we are contributing to astronomical discovery!
If you have any questions, please contact us at citizenscience@unistellaroptics.com.
Send an email to citizenscience@unistellaroptics.com to let us know that you have observed, including your LOG and ephemeris table.
Clear skies! 🔭
SETI/Unistellar Planetary Defense Team
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