Updated 2026 Jan 29

Introduction

Amateur Astronomers involved with the timing of asteroid occultations using telescope and video camera, will occasionally find unusual features in their recorded observations. These may be attributed to known phenomena, but sometimes discoveries are possible. Those observations require thorough examination and some additional data to support a discovery. Other possible explanations include double stars, grazing occultations, and unusual shaped asteroids or contact binaries.

The observation review is undertaken by regional coordinators associated with the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA). These may be societies or astronomy clubs. The asteroids listed on this page are reported to the SODIS database (Europe). Review of the observations may not yet be complete and are preliminary.

Confirmed binary objects (moons) discovered through stellar occultation observations, can be found at the Hazelbrook Observatory CBET Moons or linked here.