Asteroid to black out bright star during once in a lifetime event
An asteroid will pass directly in front of Regulus, one of the brightest stars in our night sky, next Wednesday — briefly blacking out the star in what astronomers are calling a “once in a lifetime” event. Better yet, New York City falls directly within the viewing path which is literally paper-thin on the earths scale. The event is so small, and so brief, that it will only be visible over a sliver of area. And this area happens to encompass millions of people in New York City, Northeast NJ and Long Island.
Late Wednesday Night March 19 (or early Thursday morning March 20) at 2:06am, the asteroid Erigone will very briefly pass in front of Regulus, the first magnitude star which shines bright enough in the sky to be noticeable even in the metropolis of New York City.
The predicted path of the eclipse of Regulus as the asteroid passes in front of it. Image credit: Geoff Hitchcox / IOTA / Google Maps.