Difficult event, but Cabrillo Observatory is inside the path, and so I and Jordan Brown are going to give it a try. Hopefully Kirk may try it too, from near home? Misses Karl.
Alt=49, Az=263 in Gemini on the edge of the Jellyfish Nebula near M35 and Eta Geminorum
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This event was right after Astro 8A let out from Cabrillo Observatory, so this is where I set up for it. Used the 8SE scope, at my usual parking spot.
Clouds came in and looked to be ready to ruin the event and got worse as 10pm approached. I ended up in-doors in the Dome building conversing with Sandy and Bernard about strategies for our new computer make-overs we were doing for the students and for handling the new ZWO ASI2600 MCduo camera that was going to arrive very soon to replace our venerable old ST2000xcm CCD camera. Then I glanced over at the TV monitor showing the videocamera linked to the Orion scope on the 12" and saw that the Plieades was quite visible and apparently in clear sky. I wondered - why is the Plieades so clear again? I though the fog had rolled in? We went outside and the target area of the sky was clear, and so was other areas in the west and overhead. It was 13 minutes before this occultation was to happen. The gang of Jordan, Sandy, Bernard and Will all advised - "It's too late, only 12 minutes till the event." My first impulse was to give up. But that decision always triggers a counter-reaction. "NO. I'm not giving up!" and so I rushed to my car, and got very focused and set up ASAP. Everything went according to muscle memory just fine. Aligned on Polaris and Alhena, Alhena being only 5 degrees away from the target so I expected a good alignment. I did a GoTo as Jordan read off the coordinates for input to the scope - did a quick look at what the eyepiece field should be, noted "OK, a bunch of brighter stars at the top of the eyepiece". Sure enough, I saw a bunch of brighter stars and I guesstimated I was essentially OnTarget. Fast pulled out the diagonal w/ eyepiece, screwed on the f/3.3 reducer and inserted the Watec. I'd already powered on the Lenovo, and OccBox, did 7 cranks to the left, and stars came into focus. Focused for a few more seconds, and it was now only 30s till event moment. I searched the stars on the chip vs my chart, Jordan and I both recognized the target must be off the right side of the chip. I did a quick push to get guesstimated the target should be in, and hit the record button, now only 15s till event moment. I adjusted to 8x, looked on-chip and recognized the target, and let it integrate.
Unreduced at this moment, but will check it later