An exceptional astronomical occultation of the dwarf planet "Haumea" Monday
Abu Dhabi, May 2, 2017 – The International Astronomy Center announced that Monday evening will witness a rare and exceptional astronomical phenomenon represented by a distinctive astronomical occultation, as the dwarf planet “Haumea” will cross in front of one of the stars, completely obscuring it for a period of up to 119 seconds, in an event that can be followed and monitored from most parts of the Arab world, as part of an international scientific monitoring campaign in which observatories and specialized astronomical destinations from various countries of the world participate.
Engineer Muhammad Shawkat Odeh, Director of the International Astronomy Center, explained that the dwarf planet is a celestial body that falls in size between a planet and an asteroid. The solar system includes five known dwarf planets, the first of which is Pluto, in addition to “Ceres,” “Eris,” “Makemake,” and “Haumea.”
He pointed out that Haumea, Makemake, and Pluto are located within the Kuiper Belt, located behind the planet Neptune, while Ceres is located within the asteroid belt separating Mars and Jupiter, while Eris is located in an area farther from the Kuiper Belt on the outskirts of the solar system.
He stated that “Haumea” is considered one of the unique astronomical bodies because it has two moons and rings surrounding it, which gives the expected occultation phenomenon great scientific importance that requires high accuracy in monitoring and analysis, as during its orbit around the sun it will obscure a faint star with a luminous intensity of 14.7, and when the star disappears behind it, only the dwarf planet that shines at 17.3 will remain visible, which leads to an luminous decrease estimated at 2.7 magnitude.
He pointed out that the phenomenon will be monitorable from all Arab countries except Somalia, Djibouti, and the Comoros, while the central path of the occultation will pass through the Sultanate of Oman, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, and Morocco.
It is expected that the protest will begin in the countries located in the eastern Arab region first, starting in the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates at 20:16 GMT, then in Jordan at 20:17, in Egypt at 20:18, and arriving in Morocco at 20:20, while the duration of the protest in most countries located within the central track is likely to range between 80 and 88 seconds.
- For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Twitter
