This is a difficult but not impossible event if conditions are good. I put this on my list only because there's a Christmas party this night in Watsonville by friends, and I can just get this on the way back home.
However, if Kirk Bender if eager to join, and drive out separately, I'd suggest the corner of Moon Valley Rd and Larkin Valley Rd just off Hwy 1. I've driven into that field in the past to get an event, a couple of years ago. I plan to be in the cul-de-sac of La Selva Drive off Mar Monte Rd exit.
Alt=43, Az=68 in Auriga, in the center of the Pentagon
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I believe I was the only observer for this event. I got a recording at 8x from the cul-de-sac at the end of La Selva Drive, off Mar Monte, observing on the ocean side of the cul-de-sac. Visually live, it looked like a miss, despite being on the centerline of this good rank event.
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This is the NIE test for a 0.24s (single integration) 4.2 mag drop, as predicted and observed. It does not meet the 3-sigma level, but it does meet the 2-sigma level. |
The second deepest drop of the entire record occurs precisely at the predicted time for this high rank even with me near the centerline. Instead of 0.6s, it looks like 0.24s (8x setting means this is 1 integration). If only the noise level could be reduced, this might pass significance. |
Zoomed in. I may try to re-PyMovie this and see if I can reduce noise, but it's already asking a lot, since the star is only 13th magnitude, in a moonlit sky. |
Current status - unsure. suspected short event but not significant enough to meet PyOTE's detection limit, and I'm the only observer. No report sent in as of Dec 28, 2025
