Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I The magic and history of eclipses
- Part II Observing solar eclipses
- Part III Eclipses of the Moon
- Part IV Occultations
- 15 When the Moon occults a star or a planet
- Part V Transits
- Part VI My favorite eclipses
- Appendices
- A Solar and lunar eclipses due between 2010 and 2024
- B A glossary of appropriate terms
- C Resources
- Index
15 - When the Moon occults a star or a planet
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I The magic and history of eclipses
- Part II Observing solar eclipses
- Part III Eclipses of the Moon
- Part IV Occultations
- 15 When the Moon occults a star or a planet
- Part V Transits
- Part VI My favorite eclipses
- Appendices
- A Solar and lunar eclipses due between 2010 and 2024
- B A glossary of appropriate terms
- C Resources
- Index
Summary
If his occulted guilt
Do not itself unkennel in one speech,
It is a damned ghost that we have seen,
And my imaginations are as foul
As Vulcan's stithy.
(Shakespeare, Hamlet, 3.2.78–82)After more than half a century of observing, I thought I had seen it all – total solar eclipses, penumbral lunar eclipses, occultations of stars by the Moon, and transits, but as yet I had never seen a planet occulted by the Moon. So it goes without question that I was thrilled at the prospect of seeing the waning crescent Moon swing over Venus in the predawn sky on Wednesday morning, April 22, 2009. While the occultation was visible from much of North America, it was only in Arizona and parts of other surrounding states, where Wendee and I live, that the ingress would take place in a completely dark sky. It would be a highlight of the International Year of Astronomy, which reached its peak during 2009.
So with the best of intentions, and the chance to add something new and different to my observing accomplishments, I set my alarm for 4:30 am (Oh-dark thirty, as an airline pilot friend once commented). But I stepped outside to see the first cloudy sky in several days. I walked to the observatory to go through the motions. However, as my eyes became more dark-adapted, I could see that there was a small break in the clouds toward the east.
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- Chapter
- Information
- David Levy's Guide to Eclipses, Transits, and Occultations , pp. 129 - 138Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010