According to In The Sky, “those in parts of Asia and Africa will see the Moon move across Saturn to occult it for a few hours.”
What is an occultation
An occultation occurs when one celestial object moves directly in front of another, temporarily hiding it from view.During this particular event, the Moon will pass in front of Saturn, blocking the planet’s visibility for a short period.
When will it be visible in India
As per the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) the lunar occultation of Saturn will begin at 1.03 am and conclude at 2:56 am. However, the precise timing of the lunar occultation may differ slightly based on the observer’s geographical position.
- In Bengaluru, observers can witness the event from 1:03 am to 2:09 am.
- Mumbai residents will be able to see the occultation from 1:26 am to 1:49 am.
- Those in Bhubaneshwar can watch the celestial phenomenon from 1:30 am to 2:38 am.
- Kolkata sky watchers can observe it from 1:38 am to 2:46 am.
- And, people in Guwahati will have the opportunity to view the occultation from 1:50 am to 2:56 am.
How to get the best view
The use of a small telescope or binoculars is recommended. However, Saturn will be visible to the naked eye as a bright, star-like object in close proximity to the Moon both before and after the occultation takes place.
This event will be visible to those residing in eastern Africa, Madagascar, southern and eastern India, northwest Indonesia, and the majority of southeast Asia, China, and Mongolia, where Saturn will temporarily vanish behind the Moon.
The rest of the world will see conjunction
The world will observe a nearly full Moon, on Tuesday, July 23 illuminated at 90%, situated slightly higher and to the right of the planet Saturn.
The following night, on Wednesday, July 24, the Moon and Saturn will once again appear in close proximity to each other and the Moon will be 81% illuminated and positioned lower in the sky, to the left of Saturn.
During both evenings, Saturn and the Moon will be visible against the backdrop of the Aquarius constellation. From the perspective of North American observers, the two celestial bodies will appear approximately 10 degrees apart from each other.
What is conjunction
Conjunction in astronomy happens when two celestial bodies appear to have the same right ascension or ecliptic longitude when observed from Earth.
According to Nasa, the distance between the Earth and the Moon averages approximately 238,855 miles (384,400 km). Saturn is situated roughly 832 million miles (1,340 million km) away from our planet on these specific days.
“The occultation and conjunction are, of course, line-of-sight illusions,” said Nasa.