Heads up stargazers! The moon will shine near the brilliant star Antares at sundown on Sept. 27, whereas some fortunate viewers — and loads of penguins — will witness the lunar disk go immediately in entrance of the purple supergiant, hiding it from view.
Look 15 levels above the southwestern horizon at sundown on Sept. 27 to seek out the waxing crescent moon. Antares will glow lower than 3 levels to its proper, surrounded by the celebs of the constellation Scorpius. Remember: the width of your three center fingers is equal to five levels within the night time sky.
Antares is a purple supergiant positioned roughly 604 light-years from Earth. It boasts a diameter equal to 700 suns, but has solely 12 instances its mass, giving the star a comparatively low density. Antares is nearing the tip of its life and is predicted to break down in on itself and explode in a dramatic supernova once it burns through the last of its remaining fuel.
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The star’s mild will shine subsequent to a 33% illuminated crescent moon on the night time of Sept. 27, simply two days forward of its first quarter part, when the whole thing of its proper aspect will probably be lit by direct daylight. A pair of 10×50 binoculars will reveal the damaged, cratered terrain on the road separating night time from day on the lunar floor, referred to as the terminator, together with the presence of darkish basaltic plains the place lava had flowed billions of years prior to now.
For observers in New York, the moon will set shortly earlier than 9:30 p.m., with Antares shining brightly to its proper. But solely a slim slice of Earth will witness the occultation itself. Starting at 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 GMT) the moon will go immediately in entrance of Antares as seen from elements of Antarctica and some distant islands, providing a non-public present for the penguins and scientists crewing distant analysis stations.
Check out our picks of the finest binoculars and telescope offers to get you exploring the lunar floor because the nights develop longer. While you are at it, make sure to learn our information to photographing the moon and peruse our roundup of the finest lenses for astrophotography obtainable in 2025.
Editor’s Note: If you snap a picture of the moon with Antares and need to share it with Space.com’s readers, then please ship your picture(s) alongside along with your feedback, identify and placement to spacephotos@area.com.