The Moon dashes through a region packed with bright stars and planets the next few mornings. It’ll pass especially close to Mars, Jupiter, and Elnath, the tip of one of the bull’s horns. Aldebaran, the bull’s eye, will remain a little farther from the Moon.
The meetings occur near the ecliptic – the Sun’s path across the sky. The planets all stay close to the ecliptic as they move through the starry background. The stars are in fixed positions relative to the ecliptic, with Elnath and Aldebaran especially close to it. Finally, the Moon’s orbit around Earth is tilted a bit relative to the ecliptic, so the Moon stays close to that path as well.
The Moon sometimes occults Elnath or Aldebaran, passing in front of the star and blocking it from view. Aldebaran is about five degrees south of the ecliptic, while Elnath is about five degrees north. That puts the stars at the limits of the Moon’s path.
The Moon moves north and south of the ecliptic in cycles, so occultations come in groups. The next set of Aldebaran occultations won’t start until 2033. But for Elnath, the next cycle starts in September and continues into 2027. The Moon won’t occult either star this month, although it’ll come close to Elnath on Wednesday.
Tomorrow, look for these four bright objects aligning to the lower left of the Moon at first light. Jupiter is the brightest member of the quartet, with Mars ranking second. More tomorrow.
Script by Damond Benningfield