Occultations by Pluto and Charon: 1993-2010
Douglas J. Mink
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Abstract
26 possible occultations by Pluto and
25 possible occultations by Charon
are the results of a search of the Hubble Space Telescope Guide Star
Catalog from 1 January 1993 through 31 December 2010. Observations of
these events will help resolved questions concerning temporal variations
in Pluto's atmosphere. In addition to these new events, the remaining
events from a photographic plate search
(Mink, Klemola, and Buie, 1991,
Astron. J. 101, 2255) are summarized. The next bright star (V=13)
may be occulted by both Pluto and Charon on 26 September1999. No star as
bright will be as close to Pluto or Charon until 22 June 2008, when they
approach a star with V=12.3.
Presented at the Pluto/Charon Conference, Flagstaff, AZ, July 1993