The binary pair is made of two similar main sequence stars both about 38 lightyears from Earth.<\/p>\n
Shining at mag. +2.7, Porrima can be seen with the naked eye in the \u2018bowl of Virgo\u2019, but to resolve it and see the two individual stars, you\u2019ll need a telescope.<\/p>\n
![\""Constellation\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/03\/virgo-spica-porrima-4e06d29.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C412"\" "\\"\"virgo\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Because Porrima lies close to the ecliptic<\/a> \u2013 the imaginary line followed by the Sun across the sky \u2013 it can often be seen in a lunar occultation<\/a>, whereby it disappears behind the Moon from our perspective on Earth.<\/p>\n One such occultation is occurring on 19 March 2022 and will be viewable from the UK.<\/p>\n From the centre of the UK, Porrima is occulted at 05:52 UT as the sky is brightening due to the approach of dawn.<\/p>\n The time of occultation will vary by up to several minutes depending on location.\u00a0Find out how to observe it below.<\/p>\n The Moon will occult binary star Porrima on the morning of 19 March.<\/p>\n This will be an interesting and challenging occultation to observe because the sky will appear quite bright as sunrise approaches.<\/p>\n The best strategy will be to locate Porrima early, say from 04:30 UT.<\/p>\n The Moon\u2019s phase will be full at the time of the occultation, so use some optical assistance to see the star, such as binoculars or a telescope finder.<\/p>\n At 04:30 UT, Porrima lies 0.6\u02da from the Moon\u2019s limb.<\/p>\n As the occultation approaches, it\u2019ll get harder to see the star, but a telescope should still show it even though the sky is becoming blue.<\/p>\n Occultation disappearance occurs around 05:52 UT as seen from the centre of the UK, with reappearance occurring around 06:24 UT after sunrise.<\/p>\n As the occultation chord \u2013 the apparent path of the star behind the Moon \u2013 is close to the Moon\u2019s northern limb, times will vary by a number of minutes depending on location.<\/p>\n If you do have clear skies, this is a fascinating event to observe, forcing you to do battle with the Moon\u2019s glare and the bright morning twilight just before the Sun rises.<\/p>\n As a result of this proximity to sunrise, extreme caution must be taken when viewing this occultation.<\/p>\n Observing the Sun without proper certified solar equipment can seriously damage your vision. If in doubt, don\u2019t attempt it.<\/p>\n This guide originally appeared in the March 2022 issue of <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Pete Lawrence Published: Wednesday, 02 March 2022 at 12:00 am Star Porrima, known as Gamma (\u03b3) Virginis, is a binary star in the constellation Virgo. The binary pair is made of two similar main sequence stars both about 38 lightyears from Earth. Shining at mag. +2.7, Porrima can be seen with the naked eye […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":29826,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/03\/see-star-porrima-pass-behind-the-moon-19-march-2022.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/03\/see-star-porrima-pass-behind-the-moon-19-march-2022-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/03\/see-star-porrima-pass-behind-the-moon-19-march-2022-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/03\/see-star-porrima-pass-behind-the-moon-19-march-2022-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/03\/see-star-porrima-pass-behind-the-moon-19-march-2022-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/03\/see-star-porrima-pass-behind-the-moon-19-march-2022.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/03\/see-star-porrima-pass-behind-the-moon-19-march-2022.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Pete Lawrence Published: Wednesday, 02 March 2022 at 12:00 am Star Porrima, known as Gamma (\u03b3) Virginis, is a binary star in the constellation Virgo. The binary pair is made of two similar main sequence stars both about 38 lightyears from Earth. Shining at mag. +2.7, Porrima can be seen with the naked eye…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/29825"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Lunar occultation of Porrima, 19 March 2022<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""From\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/03\/porrima-occultation-label-b653f8f.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C516"\" "\\"\"porrima\\"")
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