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Astronomical Activities
- IOTA -
International Occultation Timing Association. IOTA astronomers
study the profile of the Moon's limb by observing grazing occultations.
A grazing occultation occurs when the Moon "grazes" by a star causing
a series of "blinking events" as the star passes behind and in front
of lunar mountains. The orbit and motion of the Moon can be refined by
observing these types of occultations. If a star takes more than an
instant to disappear when the Moon passes in front of it, it could be
a very good indicator of two stars very close to one another - a
binary star system. The occultation technique has discovered several
hundred previously unknown closely separated binary star
systems. IOTA astronomers also observe asteroid occultations to
determine the size/shape of these objects and have discovered asteroid
"moons" in the process. Currently Richard holds the position of Executive Secretary for IOTA,
from 1998 - present. Go
here for IOTA's
home page.
- Solar Eclipses - Ever seen a Solar eclipse? It's Natures
most spectacular celestial show. Solar eclipses occur on the average
about once every 18 months at some of the most remote corners of the
Earth. Go
here for
more my research/expeditions on Solar eclipses.
- Asteroid Occultations - When an asteroid passes directly in
front of a star, this is called an asteroid occultation. This exciting
field is wide open for amateur and professional astronomers alike to
determine the size and shapes of these mysterious objects in out Solar
System. Go here for more
information about these spectacular occultation events.
- Invited Speaker Presentations - A recent
list of invited speaker presentations appears
here. If
you need a speaker for an Astronomy or related meeting, contact me at:
1-800-753-6977. .
- RUT -
Richard's Unusual Target. A collection
of several dozen unusual astronomical objects and articles I have
researched. These are some of the most enigmatic objects in the
Universe. Go
here
for a list.
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