On Wednesday (September 14) the moon will pass in front of Uranus in an event called lunar occultation that will be visible from parts of Africa, Asia and Europe.
The occultation begins at 18:26 ET (2226 GMT), when Uranus — an ice giant planet at the outer edge of the Solar System — begins to disappear behind the Moon for about an hour. After that, the planet appears behind the moon.
The occlusion will be visible about 12 to 13 degrees above the eastern UK horizon (an arm’s length fist is about ten degrees in the sky). With binoculars or a small telescope, skygazers will see Uranus gradually disappear behind the Moon’s bright rim.
The Moon is quite in the role when it comes to occultations of Uranus. It has been blocking the ice giant in the night sky at least once a month since February 2022 and will continue to do so until the end of the year. At least as seen from somewhere on earth.
Like all occultations – events in which the moon moves in front of stars, planets or even asteroids that obscure it from view, Uranus’ occultation is only visible from certain parts of the planet.
This is because the Moon is close to Earth and therefore has large parallax – the displacement of an object as seen from two different points that are not in a straight line with that object.
The moon’s position as seen from points on opposite sides of the earth is shifted between two and four degrees. This means that when observers on one side of the Earth see the moon obscuring an object, sky observers on the other side see it next to that object, separated by about two degrees.
Also, due to the Moon’s proximity to Earth, it moves quickly through the night sky. This means that planetary occultations usually only last about an hour.
That’s not as fast as other types of lunar occultation, however.
Technically, solar eclipses are examples of lunar occultations since they are caused by the moon moving in front of the sun. There are usually between two and five solar eclipses each year, but the moon is much more likely to occlude other bright, more distant stars visible to the naked eye.
Over the course of a year, the moon passes all the constellations about once a month, covering about 0.5% of the night sky. That means it covers about 850 stars normally visible to the naked eye, with monthly occlusions.
Astronomers and sky watchers can predict which bright stars will be involved in lunar occultations by observing the path the moon traces through the sky.
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Skywatchers in different regions of the world have the opportunity to observe the lunar occultation of Uranus again this year. On October 12, Uranus’ occultation will be visible over the US and Canada. On November 8, 2022, Uranus will be hidden behind the moon for observers in Asia.
Another eclipse of the Moon and Uranus will occur for observers in Europe and Asia before the end of 2022, with the two astronomical objects meeting again on December 5th.
As with the September 14 occultation, the moon will obscure the distant ice giant, causing it to disappear from view. On December 5, the occultation will last for 30 minutes beginning at 12:50 p.m. ET (4:50 p.m. GMT).
Skywatchers in the US and Europe will see Mars disappear behind the moon again on December 8, 2022.
Check out our guides for the best binoculars and telescopes to spot the lunar occultation of Uranus. If you’re hoping to capture a good photo of Uranus and/or the Moon, check out our recommendations for the best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography.
Editor’s note: If you take a picture of the Moon and Uranus and would like to share it with Space.com readers, send your photos, comments, and your name and location to [email protected].
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