Chasing Asteroid Shadows

Abstract: 

Asteroid occultations occur when an asteroid briefly passes in front of a distant star, causing the star’s light to momentarily disappear. These events provide a direct way to measure the size and shape of asteroids, and in some cases reveal features that cannot be detected any other way. In this talk, I will explain how occultation measurements can be made using small, portable telescopes from backyards and remote observing sites. I will share examples from my own observations and discuss how coordinated efforts between amateur and professional astronomers contribute meaningful data to planetary science.

Speaker:  

Pranvera Hyseni is a planetary astronomer and Ph.D. candidate in Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz. Her research combines NASA telescope observations, laboratory spectroscopy, and geochemical modeling to investigate organic matter in asteroids, with the broader goal of tracing how water and organics formed and moved through early planetesimals, shaping the ingredients for life. In 2020, she discovered the main-belt asteroid 2020 SS13. In addition to her academic research, she conducts astrometry and time-critical observations using her own observing equipment. She is the founder of Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo, led the establishment of the first National Observatory and Planetarium in Kosovo, and through Astronomy with Pran, she delivers hands on astronomy education, public outreach, and science engagement programs for students and communities. Through her ongoing partnership with Celestron, she has coordinated the distribution of hundreds of telescopes to students and schools, helping expand opportunities for hands on science and astronomy education.