The International Astronomy Center’s Astronomical Seal Observatory in the Emirates was able to monitor and photograph a rare astronomical phenomenon that was seen from different regions of the country at dawn on Saturday.
The phenomenon was represented by the disappearance of a star for 8 seconds, due to the passage of an asteroid named “Thuli 279” in front of a Taurus star named “Heeb 20917”, according to the Emirates News Agency.
The phenomenon can only be monitored from areas placed within a narrow band, the width of which does not exceed 130 km
It passes through the southern half of the Emirates and some neighboring countries.
It so happened that the narrow strip passed over the Al-Khatim Astronomical Observatory in the Al-Khatem area of the Emirate Abu Dhabiaccording to the International Astronomy Center.
Muhammad Shawkat Odeh, director of the center, said the diameter of the asteroid “Thuli” was only 126 km.
It was at the moment of occultation at a distance of 474 million km from the Earth, while the star is 37 light years away from us.
And previous astronomical calculations from the observatory’s website have shown that the asteroid will pass in front of the star
The occultation begins on December 25, 03:00, 28 minutes UAE time.
The occultation lasts only 8 seconds, during which time the star disappears from view due to a passage asteroid The weak before him, according to Odeh.
Odeh explained that this observation is a difficult astronomical observation for several reasons, including the relative darkness of the star and asteroid’s brightness.
He pointed out that the occultation occurred after the passage of a cloud mass that covered the area for several hours before the occultation.
The sky remained clear for a short time at the time of the occultation and, less than an hour after the occultation, a large cloud cover entered.
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