Moon to hide Jupiter in rare daytime occultation on September 8
A daytime occultation of Jupiter by the moon will be visible across most of North America on Tuesday, September 8, with Jupiter disappearing behind the lunar limb for roughly a minute or more.
What happened
On September 8, the moon will occlude Jupiter during daylight hours across much of North America, with the event occurring in the afternoon when both bodies will appear lower than the sun and to its right. Jupiter will disappear behind the moon's sunlit limb between 2:55 and 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time (with corresponding times for other zones), and reappear approximately 50 minutes later from behind the moon's dark edge. Before the occultation, observers can view a predawn pairing of a thin waning crescent moon (under 10% illuminated) and Jupiter beginning around 5 a.m. local time, with Jupiter positioned about 5 degrees below the moon. The occultation will not be visible in a swath of the western and southern United States west and south of a line from Bellingham, Washington, to Rockport, Texas.
Context
Locating the pair during daylight will be challenging due to the low surface brightness of both objects against the blue sky, particularly the crescent moon. Observers are advised to locate the pair before sunrise and track them into daylight, or use finders and binoculars to sweep the area roughly 30 degrees from the sun. A follow-up moon-Jupiter interaction will occur on October 6 in a dark or twilight sky before sunrise, which should be easier to observe with the naked eye.