Lunar occultation of Aldebaran observed at Imphal

Prof. K. Yugindro Singh *

An astrophysics team led by Prof. K. Yugindro Singh of Manipur University observed successfully the Moon's occultation of Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), the brightest star in the constellation Taurus in the night of March 14, 2016 at Imphal (Latitude: 24.813967, Longitude: 93.950279, Altitude: 782 m). Prof. Singh was assisted by Salam Ajitkumar Singh, a research scholar and Dr. I. Ablu Meitei, Assistant Professor, Modern College. A fourteen inch Schmidt-Cassegrain type telescope and a CCD camera were used during the observation.

Occultation is the phenomenon of temporary disappearance of one celestial body as it moves out of sight behind another. The word "occultation" comes from the Latin word occultationem meaning 'concealment'. Occultation is an amazing event to observe. It's fun to see the disappearance and reappearance of the star.

During the observed lunar occultation on March 14, 2016, the Moon covered over Aldebaran and hid the star for 1 hour 1 minute 30 seconds starting from 8.33 PM. Unfortunately, the weather before and at the start of the occultation was cloudy; consequently, no clear photo could be taken. However, from the mid to the final phase of the occultation, the weather was fine. The entire astronomical event from disappearance to reappearance of Aldebaran was video recorded.

The observed occultation is an event of a series of 49 monthly lunar occultations of Aldebaran which began on January 29, 2015 and will finally conclude on September 3, 2018. The last lunar occultation of Aldebaran occurred at Imphal on February 16, 2016 in day time (UT: 6 hr 56 min 48 sec).

Photo 1: Aldebaran just before the lunar occultation. Aldebran is seen as bright spot in the upper left near the black limb of the Moon


Photo 2: Picture of the Moon when it was occulting Aldebaran in the mid phase of occultation.


Photo 3: Aldebaran after the lunar occultation. Aldebran is seen as bright spot in the lower left near the moon's limb.

An occultation series of Aldebaran always starts in the polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere. After the initial occultation on January 29, 2015, each subsequent occultation will occur farther and farther south on Earth's globe, until reaching its southernmost point midway through the occultation series. The southernmost lunar occultation of Aldebaran will happen on August 25, 2016. Only far-northern regions of the Southern Hemisphere near the equator will be able to witness this southernmost occultation. Then the series will move northward again, until the concluding occultation in the Arctic regions on September 3, 2018.

The lunar occultation series of Aldebaran repeats in cycles of 18.6 years. The last series featured 48 lunar occultations from August 8, 1996 to February 14, 2000. The next series will present 48 occultations from August 18, 2033 to February 23, 2037.

Note from Author:

I am the Professor in-charge of Astrophysics Group at the Department of Physics, Manipur University, India. I have developed a strong team ready to make observation of any spectacular astronomical event observable with small telescopes. On March 14, 2016 we successfully observed the lunar occultation of Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), the brightest star of the constellation Taurus.