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Stargazers in eastern North America will see something genuinely uncommon in the night sky this weekend: an extremely intense star being occulted by the complete “Snow Moon.”
After turning complete Sunday (Feb. 1), the brilliant moon will cross Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, briefly making it vanish from the night sky Monday night (Feb. 2). Skywatchers remain in for a reward due to the fact that this unusual occasion, called a lunar occultation, will show up to the naked eye
from big parts of the U.S. and Canada.
It’s the most recent in a string of lunar occultations of Regulus that started in 2015 and will continue through this year, however it’s the very first and just of these vanishing acts to be quickly noticeable to observers in North America. The very best views will be from the eastern half of North America– from the Midwest to the East Coast, consisting of eastern Canada– a couple of hours after sundown, along with from northwest and west Africa.Observers will see Regulus– the 21st brightest star in the night sky– disappear behind the moon and come back about an hour later on, though your place will identify what you’ll see, when, and for the length of time.
In cities like New York, Toronto and Boston, the occasion will happen in between 8:40 and 10:05 p.m. EST. In New York City, Regulus will vanish at 8:51 p.m. and reappear at 9:54 p.m. EST, according to In-The-Sky. orgThe further west you are, the lower the occultation will appear in the sky previously at night, although this occasion will not show up from the western half of North America.
This occasion can be seen with the naked eye, the essential minutes– the start and end of the occultation– will be more impactful with a little zoom, such as a set of stargazing field glasses or a little telescope trained on the moon. Among the highlights is ingress, when Regulus will sit together with the intense edge of the moon and be covered by it. After being concealed, it will emerge on the other side of the brilliant moon– a minute called egress.
The next significant lunar occultation– an occultation of Venus on June 17– will happen throughout daytime hours in North America, so will not show up. Ensure to view Regular vanish this weekend for an uncommon lunar reward.
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Jamie Carter is a Cardiff, U.K.-based freelance science reporter and a routine factor to Live Science. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and co-author of The Eclipse Effect, and leads global stargazing and eclipse-chasing trips. His work appears frequently in Space.com, Forbes, New Scientist, BBC Sky in the evening, Sky & & Telescope, and other significant science and astronomy publications. He is likewise the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.
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