The International Occultation Timing Association

IOTA MAIN SITE

EUROPEAN SECTION

MIDDLE EAST SECTION

IOTA/LIADA SECTION

INDIA SECTION

AUSTRALASIA SECTION

EAST ASIAN SECTION

Information Site for Lunar Occultations & Grazes

Last Updated 01 Jan 2026

WARNING! Information and e-mail addresses contained herein, are for scientific use only. By entering this site, you agree that you will use this data only for lawful purposes and that, under no circumstances will you use this data to: allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via direct mail, electronic mail, or by telephone.

MISSION STATEMENT

We encourage, promote and facilitate the observation of occultations and eclipses
We provide predictions for grazing occultations of stars by the Moon
and predictions for occultations of stars by asteroids and planets
We also provide information on observing equipment and techniques,
and we report to our members about observations made

IOTA GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

To promote scientific research and discovery using occultation related methods
To conduct research at the local, regional and international level
and to publish results of studies in popular and scientific journals
To stimulate public awareness of astronomical phenomena such as (but not limited to) solar and lunar eclipses and occultations of stars by minor planets, the Moon, and other solar system bodies
To improve lunar profile data through timing of grazing and total occultations
To determine shapes and sizes of minor planets and comets through timing of occultations of stars by these objects
To discover evidence of new, and confirm characteristics of previously discovered, satellites/companions of minor planets

The Value of Lunar Occultation Timings and Observations (D Dunham, D Herald, M Soma)

The Value of Graze Occultation Timings and Observations (Mitsuru Soma - YouTube Video)

North America Spectacular Lunar Occultations

Observers are encouraged to download the Occult software
to generate predictions for their areas, of fainter occultations.

Check "Regional Information on Events" below for more information on occultation/graze events for local circumstances

How to read the prediction format

Feb 03 - Occultation of Regulus
Feb 18 - Occultation of Mercury
Apr 26 - Occultation of Regulus
Jun 17 - Occultation of Venus
Oct 06 - Occultation of Jupiter

[NOTICE] Beginning 2026, occultations of worldwide bright stars will cease to be listed here. I am only listing predictions of some spectacular events for North America, which may be listed in Sky & Telescope and/or Astronomy Magazines, and other online sources.

WARNING! Those daytime events close to the sun should be observed with caution (e.g. mercury). This website nor the webmaster, takes no responsibility for damage to equipment or self.

Those who wish to observe other lunar occultation events can receive predictions for your location, including a PDF file on how to read them, by emailing me at webmaster (at) lunar-occultations (dot) com the following information:

Telescope size
Longitude, Latitude, Elevation
Experience

2025 Predictions

Concerning 2026 IOTA Predictions Must Read(pdf format)
2026 Total Occultations of Bright Stars for 40 North American Cities
2026 RASC Total Occultation Events
2026 RASC North America Graze Tables and Maps - D. Dunham
Eclipse Maps and Weather

Asteroid Occultation Information

Steve Preston's World Wide Prediction Site
Derek Breit's Regional Asteroid Path Maps for USA
North American Asteroidal Reference Homepage
Asteroidal Occultation Results for North America
Worldwide Results Home Page
Report Form For Asteroid Observations
Japanese Astroidal Prediction Site (Japanese)
Japanese Astroidal Results (English)

Lunar Impacts and IOTA

NASA/Marshall main lunar impacts Web site
B. Cudnik's ALPO lunar meteor impacts Web site
D. Dunham's Impact Page (historical, 1999 & 2001, & earlier efforts)

Helpful Information

I.O.T.A.'s Primary Site
I.O.T.A. Membership Application
IOTAoccultations@groups.io - Discussion Maillist
"Chasing the Shadow: The IOTA Occultation Observer's Manual
The Occultation Observer's Handbook by Robinson & Povenmire
NWS Current Weather & Forecasts
Time Conversion Tables - UTC to Local for USA
World Time Zone Map
IOTA Annual Meeting Minutes

Miscellaneous Stuff

I.O.T.A. Tax Information/Expense Report [pdf format]
Additional Reference Reading Material

Occultation Software and Related Information

Occult Prediction Software
Tips for using Occult by David Dunham (pdf file)

Dr. Eberhard Riedel's GRAZPREP software and documentation

Lunar Report Generator
How to Use Occult 4 to Predict Comet Occultations
The ZC Star Catalog (not to be interfaced with Occult)
Expanded Site Files (updated file on 06 Jul 2024)

OccultWatcher Software

Basics of Total Occultations

Basic Information and How to Obtain Predictions
How to Report Observations
The Prediction Format for Total Occultations - [pdf format]
Timing & Location Accuracies for Observations<

Basics of Grazing Occultations

The Grazing Occultation
North American city coordinates>
Archive of Observed Graze Profile Reductions

Regional Information on Events - (external links)

Mid-Atlantic Occultations - D. Dunham
Kansas-Missouri Area - R. Sandy
Upper Midwest- MN, IA, ND, SD and WI
San Francisco Bay Area - D. Breit
Arizona and Surrounding Area - D. Dunham
Central America/South America (in Spanish)
Brazil by Breno Loureiro Giacchini (in Portuguese)

If you have a local URL for your area, send information to the webmaster for inclusion

Use of Video on Timing Events

A Light Weight Portable Video Setup - by R. Nugent
Richard Nugent's System - by D. Dunham
Tom Heisey's Video Setup (PDF)
"Millisecond Video Timing for the Masses" by S. Herchak
Finding Limiting Mag for Visual/Video Camera Observations

KIWI-OSD and IOTA-VTI Time Inserters

LiMovie measurement tool for video occultations (the most stable version)

astronomylinks.com
astronomy and space links, shortcuts, favorites and bookmarks.

This site maintained for IOTA by Rob Robinson, Bonner Springs KS
Send comments and mail to Webmaster
Send comments and mail to I.O.T.A. President, Steve Preston
IOTA Administration, email I.O.T.A.

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