(319) Leona

Template: Infobox Asteroid / Maintenance / Error 1

(319 ) Leona is an asteroid of the main belt, which was discovered on October 8, 1891 by Auguste Charlois.

The web of Leona has a semi-major axis of 3.4 astronomical units and their orbital period is 6.2 years. The orbit is inclined 10.6 ° to the ecliptic, the orbital eccentricity is 0.22. Leona's diameter is estimated to be about 70 kilometers. The asteroid has a dark surface with an albedo of 0.05.

Cover of the star Betelgeuse by (319 ) Leona

On December 12, 2023 a rare occultation of the bright star Betelgeuse by (319 ) Leona will take place. This occultation will be observed from Turkey, Greece and Sicily. Since Betelgeuse seen by its size from the Earth one angular diameter of 0.050 ", the asteroid but by chance under the almost identical angle of approximately 0,052 at the time of coverage" will be exhibited ( assuming a diameter of 68 km), is the event of ordinary stellar occultations are significantly different. It is of special scientific interest, especially should the brightness distribution can be determined from the stellar disk of Betelgeuse exactly with its help.