Webmaster  © Paul L Money 2012

Occultation’s and close encounters of Stars and Planets by the Moon

During its orbit the Moon can pass very close to some of the brighter stars and bright planets often producing a conjunction which is enjoyable to see. Occasionally though it gets even better when it actually occults (covers) the object. 2012 has a smaller number of such events compared with previous years involving the moon and stars and there are no bright planets occulted this year. Most of them will be challenging in twilight or almost full moonlight but they are worth trying for either with binoculars or a small telescope if you have one.

In Nightscenes as a rule I always select stars brighter than magnitude 4 so that everyone stands a chance of spotting them and potentially seeing the event. However for this year there are very few events but a couple involve stars only a little fainter so I have included some that you may stand a chance of viewing.  All times given are approximations, always begin observing at least ten minutes before the start. Note that all the tracks are shown for the two extremes of the occultation path across the UK and Ireland. The northern limit is set for the top of mainland Scotland whilst the southern limits are set for Southern England and Ireland. The rest of Great Britain and Ireland falls between them. D = Disappearance and R = Reappearance. Some of the events may also be visible for Europe but the emphasis here is mainly on the UK  and Ireland.  

May 26th

              On the late evening of May 26th the thick crescent moon occults the open star cluster M67. In this case it’s worth using a telescope as the cluster may be visible in binoculars under normal dark sky conditions but with moonlight it will be harder. Still it’s worth looking out for as not many deep sky objects get occulted by the moon. The moon’s position is set for approximately the centre of the UK/Ireland in the chart at right. To look out for it, for the north of Scotland I’d start looking from just before 10:00pm whilst for the south coast begin looking from 10:10pm. Reappearance will vary so for north Scotland begin looking from 10:50pm but it’s worth noting that the northern most stars of the cluster may just miss the lunar limb. In the south begin watching for the main stars to reappear from 11:10pm. The Moon and cluster will lie over in the west so make sure you have a good clear western horizon.