Celestial Photobomb: Rare Occultation of Mercury by the Moon Set for Next Week
Catch a rare conjunction of Mercury with the Moon next week, and an occultation for a very privileged few.
A Challenging Daytime Occultation of Venus for Europe
Up for a challenge? The Moon occults Venus for Europe, the UK and northern Asia on April 6th, though it’ll be a tough daytime catch. Get ready to stretch those visual skills to the limit, with our complete guide to this event.
Lights Out: A Fine Occultation of Aldebaran Spans the Atlantic
Reader images of the January 19th, 2016 occultation of the bright star Aldebaran by the waxing gibbous Moon. the event was visible across North America, the northern Atlantic, and Western Europe. Readers responded with Vines, pics, videos and more!
Slender Moonspotting, Occultations, Daytime Planets and More
One of nature’s grandest ‘occultations’ of all is coming right up this Friday, as the Moon passes in front of the Sun for viewers in the high Arctic for a total solar eclipse. And although 99.999+% percent of humanity will miss totality, everyone can trace the fascinating path of the Moon as it moves back …
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Luna vs. the Hyades! The 1st of 13 Occultations of Aldebaran Set For January 29th
The cosmos is continually in motion. Be it atoms, stars or snowflakes from the latest nor’easter pounding the New England seaboard, anything worth studying involves movement. And as skies and snowbound roads clear, this Wednesday and Thursday evening will give us a reason to brave the January cold, as the waxing gibbous Moon pierces the …
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A Triple Occultation Bonanza: A Challenging Series of Occultations This Weekend and More
Got clear skies? This week’s equinox means the return of astronomical Fall for northern hemisphere observers and a slow but steady return of longer nights afterwards. And as the Moon returns to the evening skies, all eyes turn to the astronomical action transpiring low to the southwest at dusk. Three planets and two “occasional” planets …
Catch the Dramatic June 10th Occultation of Saturn by the Moon
Some terms in astronomy definitely have a PR problem, and are perhaps due for an overhaul. One such awkward term is occultation, which simply means that one celestial body is passing in front of another from an observer’s vantage point, nothing more, and nothing less. I know, the word ‘occult’ is in there, raising many …
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Astrophotos: Occultation of Saturn
Observers in Australia and New Zealand had a special treat this week: watching Saturn disappear behind the Moon during an event called an occultation. (You can read all the details of how and why this happens here in our preview article.) Catching an event like this with a camera is tricky… the bright Moon can …
Clouds May Scotch Tomorrow’s Rare Erigone-Regulus Occultation
North America’s brightest predicted asteroid occultation may be one-upped by a much bigger occultation – a solid blanket of clouds. Asteroid 163 Erigone will cover or occult the bright star Regulus shortly after 2 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time tomorrow morning March 20. Observers along a 45-mile-wide (73-km) belt stretching from the wilderness of Nunavut to …
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A Fine Pair of Lunar Occultations for North America This Weekend
Heads up, North American residents: our Moon is about to blot out two naked eye stars on Friday and Saturday night. Such an event is known as an occultation, an astronomical term that has its hoary roots in astronomy’s pseudoscience ancestor of astrology. An occultation is simply when one astronomical body passes in front of …
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