TPO - People who watched the super blue moon of the July Full Moon may have noticed something strange: a planet disappeared from the sky. At that time, the 'Super Moon Sturgeon' briefly obscured or passed in front of Saturn, dimming the light of Saturn in the sky. An astrophotographer captured the entire scene.
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The Moon's total occultation of Saturn, captured by astrophotographer Josh Dury. |
Early in the morning, the moon occulted — or passed completely in front of Saturn, seemingly blocking out Saturn's light for more than an hour. This rare occultation of Saturn was only visible from parts of South America, Europe, and Africa. Astrophotographer Josh Dury was lucky enough to capture the entire event from Somerset, UK.
Taken between 4 and 5:30 a.m. local time (roughly 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ET), Dury's photos combine 30 individual images into a single time-lapse, capturing the entire eclipse of the Moon.
Saturn's rings are clearly visible as it passes behind the full moon's northwest edge, reappearing in the east about an hour later. Although the two objects appear to be standing together in the sky, Saturn is actually hundreds of millions of miles away, making the occultation a cosmic optical illusion similar to a solar eclipse.
At perigee, the moon can appear about 15% larger in diameter than at its farthest point from Earth (aphelion) and can also look significantly brighter, according to NASA.
July's full moon is the first of four consecutive supermoons, giving skywatchers plenty of opportunities to see it. A pair of stargazing binoculars or a good small telescope will be enough to make the most of the upcoming close-ups of the Moon.
If you missed Saturn’s eclipse last week, you may have a chance to see the next one in September, depending on where you live. The moon will again appear to “swallow” Saturn in the early morning hours of September 17. This time, viewers in parts of Australia and the western United States will have the best view.
It's been a busy month for skywatchers, with dazzling auroras, planetary conjunctions and the Perseid meteor shower. Last week, astrophotographer Dury also trekked to Scotland's Stonehenge to capture dozens of "shooting stars" falling on the ancient monument.
There are still plenty of sky-watching events to look forward to in 2024, including some of the best meteor showers of the year.
According to Live Science
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