Ceara back to the point of observation of scientists. This time, the phenomenon being examined is the occultation of a star by Planetoide Varuna, which orbits beyond Neptune.

To accompany the event, the state will have two observation points, one in the city of Irauçuba in the northwest, and another in Quixadá, Central Hinterland. It is expected that the event takes place today at 20:06 with a maximum of approximately 45 seconds.

Viewpoints

The concealment of the star can be observed in the north and northeast Brazil and southern Africa. Therefore, many astronomers in Europe and the United States are today in Brazil and South Africa to record the phenomenon.

Ceara received the American astronomer Bruce Berger, an amateur astronomer and member of the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, who was gathering data for planetary scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and astronomers of the Observatory of Paris, Rio de Janeiro and a member of the Network of observational astronomy (REA), Minas Gerais. Students were welcomed by members of the Astronomy Club of Fortaleza (casf), a group founded on May 23, 2007, by scholars and curious about astronomy.

“The event will help us learn more about how the solar system was formed. The object that we’ll shoot you may have an atmosphere around it. Therefore, by analyzing the nature of this object and its size, we can have a better sense how they formed the outer planets such as Uranus, Neptune, Jupiter and Saturn. Moreover, there is also the possibility to discover a satellite, “noted the American astronomer Bruce Berger.

According to the scholar, these data are important in research on trans-Neptunian objects that have important role in the study of the formation and evolution of the solar system.The Varuna was discovered in November 2000, but information about its size and orbit are not yet accurate.

Privileged view

The session coordinator of occultations of REA, Breno Loureiro Giacchino, noted that the northeast is the world’s best place to observe the phenomenon. ”Even the Varuna – as well as other trans-Neptunian objects – being located almost in the outer solar system, here the northeast, has a privileged view,” he said.

In Ceará, the event will be accompanied with casf equipment, including some of the most modern telescopes of the state. Already astronomer Bruce Berger, who goes to Irauçuba, will use a movie camera to record and study the eclipse of the star by Varuna.

The only way to determine the size, shape and atmosphere in the presence of trans-Neptunian objects – from Earth – is by means of stellar occultations. If the phenomenon is successful, considering that clouds may preclude the observation would be another step in putting the state as a world reference in respect of scientific research.

Is not the first time that Ceara is the point of observation of scientists. In the year 1919, the municipality of Sobral and the island of Principe, in Africa, were points of observation have shown that the theory of relativity, Albert Einstein.