Lunar occultation of Venus: the morning of the 9th November 2023

[Weather-history]

There will be a pretty spectacular conjunction of Venus and the Moon in the pre-dawn sky on the 9th November if the skies are clear but the main event occurs from roughly around  9.40am to 10.40am when the Moon passes between us and Venus, occulting it. Times vary depending on exact location so it is probably best to start looking around 9.15am  to witness the occultation.

This will  be a chance to witness Venus with the naked eye during the day with the help of the Moon as a visual reference point. With a pair of binoculars, it should be quite a sight as the south polar region of the Moon passes in front of Venus and re-emerges about an hour later. 

Safety wise, it would be  useful to block out the sun say by standing in the shadow of a building as an example,  so as not to accidentally scan over the sun if you are using a pair of binoculars/telescope. 

[Weather-history]

Stunning

 

[reef]

Cloudy again of course!

[Andy Bown]

Lol I have by chance found this thread and discovered that this proximity is therefore pretty rare. We only saw it in a cloud break while outside waving off my wife just before 07.00! 

[Weather-history]

Weather was infuriating as I missed the disappearance and reemergence of Venus but at least I see did something.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Weather-history

[reef]

4 hours ago, Weather-history said:

Weather was infuriating as I missed the disappearance and reemergence of Venus but at least I see did something.

Excellent pictures. When you see the small crescent of Venus next to the moon it really shows the vast distances involved. Venus is currently 122 million km (0.81AU) away.

Unfortunately it didn't clear up here.

[Jo Farrow]

Cold and clear here this morning so a stunning view to start the day

[Sprites]

Further apart this morning