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Credit & Copyright: Sebastian Voltmer
Explanation:
Asteroid
319 Leona
cast a shadow across planet Earth on December 12, as it
passed
in front of bright star Betelgeuse.
But to see everyone's
favorite red giant star fade
this time, you had to stand
near
the center
of the narrow shadow path starting in central Mexico and extending eastward
across southern Florida, the Atlantic Ocean, southern Europe, and Eurasia.
The geocentric celestial event is captured in these two panels taken at
Almodovar del Rio, Spain from before (left) and during
the asteroid-star occultation.
In both panels Betelgeuse is seen above and left, at the shoulder of
the familiar constellation Orion.
Its
brightness diminishes
noticeably during the exceedingly rare
occultation when, for several seconds, the giant star
was briefly eclipsed by a roughly 60 kilometer diameter
main-belt asteroid.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Betelgeuse
Publications with words: Betelgeuse
See also: