Jupiter to disappear behind the Moon this month

Joshua Hughes, Editor, discusses the phenomenon we will soon see in our skies

ON the morning of the 17th May, the Moon will occult Jupiter. An occultation is when one object in space passes in front of another and in this case, the Moon will occult Jupiter. Despite occultations of planets being uncommon, there have been three recent lunar occultations of Uranus and Mars visible from the UK. However, prior to the first of these on the 14th September 2022, there were very few opportunities to see these take place.

50 minutes before the Sun. When Jupiter rises in the east-northeast horizon the Moon will be a waning crescent with seven per cent visibility.

In order to view the occultation in the UK, observers in Northern Ireland and the north of Scotland will have the best view. For others in the south of the UK and Exeter, observers will witness a ‘near miss’ when Jupiter will just appear to have passed close by to the Moon. The best time to observe the event will be from 11:30 BST to 15:30 BST.

rial mount. It is important to bear in mind, however, that the Sun is only 27° away so if using binoculars or purely a naked eye observation, do - ing so in a shadow cast by a house is safest. This is because observing the Sun with the naked eye can lead to significant damage to your retina. Fi - nally, at 14:30 BST, Jupiter will appear close to the Moon’s southern edge. Good luck to all observers and feel free to send us any photos you take!

This month’s occultation of Jupiter unfortunately comes with a few difficulties. Firstly, Jupiter is currently visible in the morning and is not very well placed in the sky as it rises only

The two will be due south at 47° at 11:24 BST during the day. The best way to view the occultation is by using a telescope on a driven equato -