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20h ago

Crescent Moon and Venus Close in the Western Sky as Occultation Is Seen by Some Regions

Regional timing made the Moon’s brief daytime occultation of Venus visible only along a narrow track while the planet grows brighter toward its late‑September peak.

If you’re fast and have a flat, clear western horizon, you can catch for objects in a line just after sunset on the 14th: The Moon, Venus, Spica, and Mercury. Credit: Stellarium/USGS/Celestia/Clementine
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Venus and the crescent Moon sit briefly above the horizon after the Sun sets in mid-September. Spica, although shown, will likely require binoculars to spot this soon after sunset. Credit: Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Overview

  • Skywatchers saw a close pairing of the waxing crescent Moon and bright planet Venus after sunset on Sept. 13–14 that was easy to spot from sites with a clear west‑to‑southwest horizon.
  • The Moon passed directly in front of Venus in a short lunar occultation on the morning of Sept. 14 that was visible only from parts of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and southern India because of local daylight and horizon limits.
  • Venus is unusually bright right now, shining near magnitude −4.8 and expected to reach or approach its peak brightness later this week, giving photographers and casual viewers several nights of strong visibility.
  • Because the pair sits low above the western horizon just after sunset, observers should find an unobstructed western view, watch soon after twilight, use binoculars to pick out fainter companions like Spica or Mercury, and never point optics at the Sun during daytime viewing.
  • The week’s sky show offers easy naked‑eye viewing in many regions, a good astrophotography opportunity, and a reminder that apparent close approaches are line‑of‑sight events not physical meetings of the bodies involved.