Asteroid (372) Palma is one of the largest main-belt asteroids. It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on August 19, 1893, in Nice. It is thought to be named for the capital city of Majorca, an island in the Balearics (Spain), which are located south of France. Read more
On the morning of January 26th, at least 20 observers spread from Virginia to northern California timed the occultation of the star 32 Lyncis by the asteroid (372) Palma — in spite of the track shifting nearly half a path-width south of what was predicted. Although it was the coldest night of the season in many areas, it was clear over most of path and only a few observers were clouded out. The observations can be fit to an ellipse with dimensions 207 kilometres by 184 kilometres to an accuracy of ±2 km. The actual path was a little narrower than the predicted path. You can see the observations projected in the plane of the sky and the fitted ellipse here. In that figure some departures from an elliptical shape are evident, such as a mountain at the north end of the asteroid that is left of centre. The dashed line "21" is the last predicted central line of the occultation. The overall coverage of the predicted path was excellent.