Early this evening, 5 December, point your telescope at the Moon and you’ll be able to watch as the planet Uranus disappears behind it, before reappearing out the other side.
This event is known as a lunar occultation, and begins at around 16:50 UTC – depending on your location.
The Moon will be a large waxing gibbous at the time of Uranus’s disappearing act, which means the planet will disappear behind the dark edge of the Moon – from our perspective on Earth – before reappearing from behind the brighter edge.
You can find more info on observing the event via Pete Lawrence’s fantastic guide to the lunar occultation of Uranus, or read on below for some quick tips.
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Lunar occultation of Uranus: observing tips
- A telescope setup showing the entire Moon’s disc guarantees a view of the reappearance, but Uranus will be a small dot
- More magnification will show Uranus better, but increases the possibility of missing the reappearance
- Uranus’s disappearance can be seen from the centre of the UK at 16:50 UT, 50 minutes after sunset
- The sky will be darkening but not fully dark
- Shining at mag. +5.6, Uranus will be tricky to see
- Uranus reappears at 17:17 UT from behind the Moon’s northeast limb
- A small/medium telescope should be able to spot the planet pop out from behind the Moon
Don’t forget to catch the lunar occultation of Mars on 8 December!
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This guide originally appeared in the September 2022 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.