On Friday during the day, the only planetary occultation of the year observable from Hungary will occur, when the thin crescent Moon will cover Venus, the Svábhegy Observatory informed MTI.
The occultation will be visible through astronomical telescopes at 2:20 p.m. Venus will briefly disappear behind the Moon, then a little over an hour later reappear on the opposite side of the crescent in the daytime sky.
This rare phenomenon, only occasionally observable from Hungary, happens because the apparent path of the Moon precisely crosses the position of Venus, causing the planet to slowly vanish behind the bright-to-dim edge of the 5% illuminated lunar crescent.
The pair will be visible in the western sky, at an altitude of 35 degrees at the start of the event.
Since the unilluminated side of the Moon cannot be observed in daylight, Venus will appear to suddenly emerge out of nowhere in the daytime sky as it reappears.
On this day, the Svábhegy Observatory will host a special daytime program for visitors. Participants will be able to follow Venus’s disappearance and reappearance behind the Moon live with the help of high-performance telescopes. The demonstration will be led by astronomers, who will provide detailed explanations of the background of the phenomenon.
Further information about the program and the astronomical event can be found on the observatory’s website (https://svabhegyicsillagvizsgalo.hu/).
(MTI)
Main picture: illustration.
