For some time it has been known that there will be a lunar occultation of Comet Lulin on

March 7. This comet is currently near its maximum expected brightness.

I have just recomputed the occultation prediction, using the latest available
elements.
The occultation region essentially extends over the north pole, covering the
following
regions in night-time:

Iceland
Russia to the east of about 70 deg
north-eastern China
Korea (north and south)
far-northern Japan (at very low altitude)

The event will not be easy to see, as the moon will be 86% illuminated. But it
does
present an interesting photo opportunity for those in the region with bvery
clear skies.

The following table gives the time when the center of the comet will be occulted
by the
dark limb of the moon - as seen from a range of relatively large cities in the
region..
The times are in UTC. The second table gives the location of the cities.


Occultation predictions of C2007 N3 Lulin Magnitude 7.1
Date 2009 Mar 7

Moon: % illumination = 86+, Solar elongation = 136


Disappearance
U.T. Sun Moon CA PA
Location h m s Alt Alt o o

1 CN BEIJING 19 31 12 12 23S 170
2 CN HAILAR 19 12 52 15 45S 148
3 CN HARBIN 19 16 29 10 45S 148
4 CN HUHHOT 19 32 43 16 18S 175
5 CN SHIJIAZHUANG 19 36 55 12 14S 179
6 CN TIANJIN 19 32 47 11 22S 171
7 MN ULAN BATOR 19 19 46 23 27S 166
8 NO SVALBARD 18 16 39 -8 29 16S 177
9 RU ABAKAN 19 13 31 33 12S 181
10 RU BLAGOVESCHENSK 19 8 33 11 52S 141
11 RU BRATSK 19 4 5 28 35S 158
12 RU CHITA 19 9 48 20 42S 151
13 RU IRKUTSK 19 11 30 25 32S 161
14 RU POLYARNY 18 45 46 24 53S 140
15 RU ULAN-UDE 19 11 39 24 35S 158
16 RU YAKUTSK 18 50 38 15 62S 131



Sites
Location E. Long Latitude

1 CN BEIJING 116 35.1 40 4.8
2 CN HAILAR 119 49.5 49 12.3
3 CN HARBIN 126 15.0 45 37.4
4 CN HUHHOT 111 49.3 40 51.2
5 CN SHIJIAZHUANG 114 41.8 38 16.8
6 CN TIANJIN 117 20.8 39 7.4
7 MN ULAN BATOR 106 46.0 47 50.6
8 NO SVALBARD 15 27.9 78 14.8
9 RU ABAKAN 91 23.1 53 44.4
10 RU BLAGOVESCHENSK 127 24.6 50 25.3
11 RU BRATSK 101 41.9 56 22.2
12 RU CHITA 113 18.3 52 1.6
13 RU IRKUTSK 104 23.7 52 16.0
14 RU POLYARNY 112 3.0 66 25.0
15 RU ULAN-UDE 107 26.3 51 48.4
16 RU YAKUTSK 129 46.2 62 5.6