Simma Sky: Moon Occultation

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — I know what you're thinking.

"Corey, this is a family-friendly, wholesome blog about the night sky. This is NOT a place for you to talk about the occult!" And you would be right - but we aren't talking the occult! Ha.

"Occultation" occurs when one object is hidden by another. In this case, the moon passes between the observer - you - and the object. Not creepy at all. And nothing to do with the occult. A solar eclipse is another example.

Astrophotographer Laura Austin caught the moon's occultation of the star Aldebaran, on Jan. 19, 2016, from her location in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

Notice the star (Aldebaran) just left of the moon above. Might look like a white pixel on your screen (cause it does on mine!)

On February 11, the moon will occult the star Mu Ceti, and this will be visible for most of the Northern Hemisphere. Mu Ceti is a part of the constellation Cetus. Cetus can be found near Orion this time of year:

Image courtesy skyandtelescope.org

Look to the south after sunset. Moonset occurs after midnight on the morning of February 12.

In 2014, the moon occulted the planet Saturn. Scroll down on this page and watch the video by Jan Koet. It. Is. AMAZING. In 2017, the moon occulted Venus, Mars, and then Mercury. All on the same day. EarthSky reports that three planets will be occulted in the same day again...in 2036. Mark your calendars.

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