On November 6, 2010, the dwarf planet Eris occulted a faint 16 magnitude star and this was the first time astronomers were able to witness an occultation by Eris. Additionally, at 96.6 Astronomical Units away, it was the most distant object for which this kind of occultation — where one astronomical object passes in front of another — had been seen. Why was this dim, distant event important? It has helped refine the size of what is (was?) thought to be the biggest dwarf planet (yes, I know, an oxymoron) we know of.
?Most of the ways we have of measuring the sizes of objects in the outer solar system are fraught with difficulties,? wrote astronomer and discoverer of Eris, Mike Brown, on his website ?Mike Brown?s Planets.? ?But, precisely timed occultations like these have the potential to provide incredibly precise answers.?
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Read the rest of Video: Stellar Occultation by Eris (301 words)
© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Eris, mike brown, occulation, Pluto
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Full story at http://www.universetoday.com/78334/video-stellar-occultation-by-eris/
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