Stargazers in the U.S. will witness the razor-thin waning crescent moon rise close to Venus and the bright star Regulus in the predawn sky on Sept. 19, while others will see the lunar disk pass directly in front of the rocky planet, briefly occulting (or hiding) its light.
Head out two hours before dawn on Sept. 19 to find the slender form of the 2%-lit moon rising low on the eastern horizon with Venus visible as a bright morning star less than 1 degree below and Regulus — the brightest star in the constellation Leo — just beyond. Remember, the width of your little finger held at arms length equates to roughly 1 degree in the night sky.
Around this time, you may notice a subtle glow illuminating the shadowed region of the lunar surface, revealing the vast basaltic plains known as lunar maria, which formed billions of years ago from ancient lava flows. This phenomenon — called Earthshine, or the Da Vinci glow — can only be witnessed on nights surrounding a new moon phase, when the lunar disk is well positioned to bathe in sunlight reflected from Earth‘s surface.
Jupiter can be found shining high above the eastern horizon to the upper right of the moon in the late night hours of Sept. 19, embedded in the constellation Gemini with the bright stars Castor and Pollux twinkling to its left.
Stargazers in the U.S. will see the lunar disk drift closer to Venus and Regulus as dawn approaches. Those viewing from Europe, Canada and Greenland, along with parts of Russia, Asia and Africa will witness the moon pass straight in front of Venus, temporarily hiding it from view. The event — known as an occultation — will begin globally at 6:34 a.m. ET (1034 GMT) on Sept. 19 and will end at 10:26 a.m. ET (1426 GMT) the same day, according to in-the-sky.
Stargazers hoping to get a closer look at the constellations or planets of the solar system should read our roundups of the best binoculars and telescopes for viewing the night sky.
Editor’s Note: If you capture an image of the moon with Venus with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to [email protected].
