Asteroidal occultation results multiply helped by Hipparcos

Over 280 occultations of stars by asteroids have been observed since the first one reported in 1958. Most of these have been seen or recorded by just one observer, but over 60 of them have been observed from three or more separated stations, allowing a determination of the size and shape of the asteroid's outline. The high-accuracy star catalogues derived from the HIPPARCOS mission have greatly improved the predictions of the paths so that about 30 events are now observed each year, triple the previous rate.