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