CHIRON STELLAR OCCULTATION CANDIDATES - 1993-1996

A photographic search was conducted for stars that may be occulted by the unusual solar system object (2060) Chiron during the period from f all 1993 through summer 1996. 44 candidates were identified to a limit ing V magnitude of 16, and for which the minimum appulse separation wi th Chiron is predicted to be less than 2.5 arcsec. The successful obse rvation of a stellar occultation by Chiron would give a direct measure of its diameter (currently estimated to be between 60 and 300 km), an d would help considerably in constraining Chiron's surface properties and volatile makeup. If at the time of the occultation, Chiron exhibit s a significant coma, there is also the potential for measuring the op tical-depth profile of the dust in its inner coma.