06 April 2016: The Moon occults Venus – simulation
6 April 2016, 07:14 UT: the Moon occults Venus, detail of the ingress – simulation from Rome, Italy
On the morning of 9 April 2016, in broad daylight, a rare lunar occultation of Venus will be visible from most of Europe, Russia, Part of Northern Africa and part of Asia. The Moon will be visible as a sharp crescent (phase < 3%).
It is not an obvious sight (the Sun will be at only 16 degrees from the Moon/Venus couple) and you really need, if you wish to try, to stay safe from the Sun: if you have no proper experience, please do not try, your eyes are much more precious. Find a place from where the Sun is completely covered by a wall/building during your session, so you have no chances to accidentally see it by naked eye or with your instruments.
The charts and video below were made by Gianluca Masi, The Virtual Telescope Project, using TheSkyX Pro by Software Bisque to simulate this view from Rome, Italy, where the occultation will start at 09:14 local time and will end at 10:22 local time.
The chart below shows the position of the involved bodies from Rome, at 07:14 UT (09:14 local time), the beginning of the event:
6 April 2016, 07:14 UT: the Moon occults Venus, ingress – simulation from Rome, Italy
Here it is a detailed map of the ingress from Rome:
6 April 2016, 07:14 UT: the Moon occults Venus, detail of the ingress – simulation from Rome, Italy
The map below shows the position of the involved bodies from Rome, at 08:22 UT (10:22 local time), at the end of the occultation:
6 April 2016, 08:22 UT: the Moon occults Venus, egress- simulation from Rome, Italy
Finally, a detail of the end of the occultation, again as seen from Rome:
6 April 2016, 08:22 UT: the Moon occults Venus, detail of the egress – simulation from Rome, Italy
A video simulation of the whole occultation is available below (video made with TheSkyX Pro by Software Bisque):
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