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Billy Henry
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Twin Cover-Ups
The Moon will stage a pair of cover-ups over the next couple of nights. The first happens tonight, when the Moon covers up the planet Saturn. And the second happens just 24 hours later, when it covers the planet Neptune. The cover-ups are known as occultations. They occur because the Moon and planets all stay close to the ecliptic – the Sun’s path across the sky. But they all stray a few degrees to either side of the ecliptic. So most months, the alignment is off by a bit, so the Moon just misses the planets. At times, though, the geometry is just right, as it is now – at least for parts of the world. Tonight, for example, the occultation of Saturn will be visible from a bit of South America, most of Central America, and the southern half of Florida. There, Saturn will disappear at about 9:20 p.m. It’ll remain out of sight for about 45 minutes. Because Saturn forms a tiny disk in our sky, it’ll take a few seconds for the planet to disappear and reappear – it won’t instantly blink off and back on. The rest of the United States will see an especially close encounter between Saturn and the Moon. Saturn looks like a bright star, and will pass just a fraction of a degree from the Moon. Tomorrow night, it’s Neptune’s turn. The path of the occultation will cross most of the United States. But Neptune is so faint that you need a telescope to watch the giant planet vanish – another cover-up for the gibbous Moon. Script by Damond Benningfield
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