The Moon orbits around Earth and passes by other planets each month. Sometimes, they align just right, and the Moon appears to eclipse a planet when viewed from Earth. This event is called an occultation, and the most recent one was last December 7, when the bright, ruddy Mars was temporarily behind the Moon.
Now, an astrophotographer shares his highly detailed image of the awe-inspiring moment as a tiny, usually vibrant Red Planet rose behind the Moon after the lunar occultation.
Lunar Occultation in Action
Professional astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy, a resident of Arizona, shared on Twitter his stunning shot of the recent lunar occultation. He wrote that the image shows the moment when Mars peeked out from behind the Moon, describing the experience as truly as surreal experience.
The bright color of the Red Planet indicates the recent eclipse that was clearly visible on Earth. Aside from McCarthy, many people captured pictures and videos of Mars disappearing behind the Moon and reappearing after the lunar occultation.
This is the moment Mars peeked out from behind our moon after being hidden for an hour. This shot was captured using my largest telescope and a special high-speed camera. Seeing another planet rising on the horizon of our moon was such a surreal experience. pic.twitter.com/8IctbVXuUM
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) December 8, 2022
McCarthy told Live Science that capturing a highly detailed image after the event was a real challenge. He used an astrophotography technique called "lucky imaging," wherein he needed to take bursts of tens, hundreds, or thousands of photos and stack them on top of each other to create one detailed photo.
He noted that the speed at which the Moon travels only gave him a 10-second window to take the pictures to avoid blurring the lunar surface in the final picture. That night, he took approximately 2,000 images to create that single image.
"Overall it's one of the most difficult shots I've ever captured," McCarthy said to the news outlet. But it is also "one of my favorite moments since beginning this hobby."
Artemis I's Orion capsule also captured a similar image of Earth disappearing behind the Moon on November 16 during its historical journey as it flew past the Moon and into orbit.
Lunar Occultation Explained
According to BBC's Sky at Night Magazine, a lunar occultation occurs when the Moon appears in front of another cosmic object in the sky, like a planet, a star, or an asteroid.
People on Earth can notice the Moon moving fast because it is near even to any planet in the Solar System. But in reality, a lunar occultation could last about an hour. Although, a total solar eclipse is still technically a bit faster and considered a lunar occultation because it is caused by the Moon moving in front of the star in the Solar System.
Lunar occultations of planets are fairly rare, but occultations of stars occur regularly. Experts said it is easy to spot the number of stars the Moon will hide in a year just by looking at its path in the sky. Apparently, behind it is a background of stars called the ecliptic, which is titled at a little over 5 degrees.
Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.
