Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Occultation of Delta1 Tauri by the Last Quarter Moon (23 February 2018)
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Evening sky on Friday, February 23 looking west as seen from Adelaide
at 20:58 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset). The waxing Moon is near the
Hyades. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local
time (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
The inset shows the Moon at 23:21 ACDST, when the Moon is about to cover π 1 Tauri. Timings for major cities are listed in the table below.
For many locations in Australia the First Quarter Moon occults the close pair of stars π 1 and π 2 Tauri in the Hyades star cluster. These are reasonably bright stars, readily visible to the unaided eye, but the occulation is close to the horizon. As the darf edge of the Moon covers the stars you should see them abruptly wink out.
Even if you do not have a clear horizon watching the Moon drift towards the pair of π 1 and π 2 Tauri in the beautiful Hyades cluster will be fascinating.
For many locations, especially on the east coast and central states you will need a flat clear horizon to see the occulation (example horizon views are shown below). This will mean that most telescopic observation will not be possible due to the low angle of elevation, and the dimming of the stars close to the horizon means the occultation may be best viewed with binoculars.
Timings for major cities
The inset shows the Moon at 23:21 ACDST, when the Moon is about to cover π 1 Tauri. Timings for major cities are listed in the table below.
For many locations in Australia the First Quarter Moon occults the close pair of stars π 1 and π 2 Tauri in the Hyades star cluster. These are reasonably bright stars, readily visible to the unaided eye, but the occulation is close to the horizon. As the darf edge of the Moon covers the stars you should see them abruptly wink out.
Even if you do not have a clear horizon watching the Moon drift towards the pair of π 1 and π 2 Tauri in the beautiful Hyades cluster will be fascinating.
For many locations, especially on the east coast and central states you will need a flat clear horizon to see the occulation (example horizon views are shown below). This will mean that most telescopic observation will not be possible due to the low angle of elevation, and the dimming of the stars close to the horizon means the occultation may be best viewed with binoculars.
 |  |  |
| Location of the Moon above the western horizon as seen from Melbourne at 00:01 AEDST on the morning of the 24th, just as π 1 Tauri is occulted (click to embiggen) | Location of the Moon above the western horizon as seen from Adelaide at 23:58 ACDST on the evening of the 23rd, just as π 1 Tauri is occulted (click to embiggen) | Location of the Moon above the north-western horizon as seen from Perth at 21:40 AWSTon the evening of the 23rd, just as π 1 Tauri is occulted (click to embiggen) |
Timings for major cities
| City | Time π 1 Tauri covered | Moon set |
| Adelaide (ACDST) | 23:58 | 00:41 (24th) |
| Brisbane | - (no occulation) | - |
| Canberra (AEDST) | 00:10 (24th) | 00:27 (24th) |
| Darwin | - (no occulation) | - |
| Hobart (AEDST) | 23:53 | 00:27 (24th) |
| Melbourne (AEDST) | 00:01 (24th) | 00:40 (24th) |
| Perth AWST | 21:40 | 00:40 (24th) |
| Sydney AEDST | 00:16 (24th) | 00:22 (24th) |
Labels: Moon, Occultation
# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:30 pm 
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