Successful (334) Chicago Report from Olds, Alberta

By Andrew Lowe

(This report was originally posted on the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) newsgroup).

I successfully observed this occultation from a site near Olds, Alberta, Canada. The location was at 114°00'03" west longitude, 51°50'11" north latitude, elevation 988m. I used a 6" f/8 reflector at 44X. Sky conditions were perfect, although it was a chilly -15°C.

I recorded the events by voice on a tape recorder with WWV broadcasting in the background. At home, I dumped the recording into the computer and reduced the WAV file. The results:

D 10:02:06.44 UTC (recorded) -0.74 (reaction time) = 10:02:05.7 UTC
R 10:02:18.55 UTC (recorded) -0.55 (reaction time) = 10:02:18.0 UTC
Duration = 12.3 seconds

Although I was located at 70S, my duration suggests that I was considerably closer to the center line and that there was a south shift. The mid-time was only 2 seconds later than predicted.

Predicted occultation path across North America, courtesy of David Herald's winOCCULT software. A last-minute update shifted the predicted path slightly northward. My observing site at Olds, Alberta is indicated with a +.

Nine observers in Canada and the U.S. observed the occultation. The outline of (334) Chicago can be determined from the interval when the star was occulted by the asteroid. My site at Olds, Alberta was #4 (fourth from the top).