The interactive map below shows our current prediction for the occultation by (617) Patroclus-Menoetius on 2026 November 5 UT. The predicted locations of the shadows of Patroclus and Menoetius are indicated by the blue and green paths, respectively. This prediction is based on a Gaia eDR3 position for the star, corrected for parallax and proper motion, and the v20260922195057 orbit estimate for Patroclus-Menoetius, which is derived from pmcombo5_cloud2b_bary.bsp and pmcombo5_cloud2b_mutual.bsp. This ephemeris has a 1-sigma crosstrack uncertainty of 12.7 km and a 1-sigma downtrack uncertainty of 0.61 sec for this event.
The geocentric mid-time of the event is 20:17:07.7 UT. The J2000 star position is RA 05:39:39.4 (5.6609523), Dec +38:17:23 (38.289802), and its magnitude is 10.99. Patroclus and Menoetius are moving at 13.3 km/s with respect to the star and their cross-track sizes are estimated to be 107.4 km and 102.5 km, respectively, so central chords are expected to last 8.1 seconds for Patroclus and 7.7 seconds for Menoetius.
At the time of the occultation, the target star will be 97.7 degrees from the (12% illuminated) Moon. The system magnitude (Patroclus+Menoetius) is predicted to be 15.23, so it will be 50 times fainter than the star it is occulting.
Of-date coordinates for the target star on event night are RA 05:41:30.2 (5.6917222), Dec +38:18:09 (38.302500).