Lunar occultations in the near infrared: achievements and new challenges

Abstract

A brief review of the lunar occultation program in the near infrared for high angular resolution study of bright IR sources carried out at PRL in the last decade is presented. The development of the two channel Fast IR photometer is described. Major results pertaining to circumstellar dust structures surrounding occulted objects like IRC+10216 and WR104 are outlined. The challenges for the future in observing lunar occultations in the L band and in the use of IR arrays for occultation work are discussed