Moon to occult Saturn: What you need to know.
Funny听thing. Skywatchers are often听听just as excited to watch a celestial object disappear as we are to see it make an appearance. Early Wednesday morning听(May 14) the Full Flower Moon will slip in front of 听Saturn, covering it from view for about an hour for observers in Australia and New Zealand. If you don鈥檛 live where the dingoes roam, no worries. You can watch it online.听And no matter where you are on the planet,听the听big moon will accompany听the ringed planet across the sky this Tues. night-Weds. morning.
Occultations of stars happen swiftly. The moon鈥檚 limb meets the pinpoint star and bam! it鈥檚 gone in a flash. But Saturn is an听extended object and the moon needs time to cover one end of the rings to the other. Planetary occultations afford the opportunity to remove yourself from planet Earth and watch a planet 鈥榮et鈥� and 鈥榬ise鈥� over the alien lunar landscape. Like seeing a听听in the flesh.
As the moon approaches Saturn, the planet first touches the lunar limb and then appears to 鈥榮et鈥� as it鈥檚 covered by degrees. About an hour later, the planet 鈥榬ises鈥� from听the opposite limb. Planetary occultations are infrequent and always worth the effort to see.
Seen from the northern hemisphere and equatorial regions, the nearly full moon will appear several degrees to the right or west of Saturn tomorrow night (May 13). As the night deepens and the moon rolls westward,听the two grow closer and closer. They鈥檒l be only a degree apart听(two full moon diameters) during Wednesday morning twilight seen from the West Coast. Northern hemisphere viewers will听notice that the moon slides to the south of the planet overnight.
Skywatchers in Australia will see the moon cover Saturn during convenient early evening viewing hours May 14:
* 8:09 听p.m. local time from Adelaide
* 9:05 p.m. 听Brisbane
* 8:50 p.m. 听Melbourne
* 8:53 p.m. Canberra
* 8:56 p.m. from Sydney (More times and a map 鈥� click听)
Before the occultation, Saturn will shine close to the moon鈥檚 upper right and might be tricky to see with the naked eye because of glare.
Binoculars will easily reveal the planet, but a telescope is听the instrument of choice. Even a small scope magnifying at least 30x will show Saturn and its rings hovering above the bright edge of the moon. Stick around. About an hour later, Saturn will re-emerge along the moon鈥檚 lower left limb.
Meanwhile, back in the western hemisphere, we鈥檒l watch听the nearly full Flower Moon听make a close pass of the planet. If you鈥檝e had difficulty finding the celestial ring bearer, you鈥檒l have no problem Tuesday night. Take a look at Saturn鈥檚 wonderful system of rings in your telescope 鈥� they鈥檙e tipped nearly wide open this year. For even more fun, see how many moons you can spot. And don鈥檛 forget, you can watch it online courtesy of astrophysicist Gianluca Masi. His听听will broadcast the occultation听live听starting at 10:15 Universal Time May 14 (6:15 a.m. EDT, 5:15 CDT, 4:15 MDT and 3:15 PDT).
听is a long-time amateur astronomer and member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). His observing passions include everything from auroras to Z Cam stars. Every day the universe offers up something both beautiful and thought-provoking. He also writes a daily astronomy blog called .
Originally posted on .
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