Previous attempted observations of stellar occultations by Varuna in 2005 and 2008 were unsuccessful due to uncertainties in Varuna's proper motion along with undesirable conditions for observing. In 2010, an occultation by Varuna was successfully observed by a team of astronomers led by Bruno Sicardy on the night of 19 February. The occultation was observed from various regions in southern Africa and north-eastern Brazil. Although observations of the occultation from South Africa and Namibia had negative results, observations from Brazil, particularly at São Luís in Maranhão, successfully detected a occultation by Varuna of an 11.1 magnitude star. The occultation yielded a chord length of , quite large compared to mean diameter estimates from thermal measurements. Because the occultation occurred near Varuna's maximum brightness, the occultation was observing the maximum apparent surface area for an ellipsoidal shape; the longest axis of Varuna's shape was observed during the occultation. São Luís was also located very close to the predicted centerline of Varuna's shadow path, meaning the chord length was close to the longest measurable during the event, closely constraining the possible maximum equatorial diameter.