Photographer: Mohamed Laaifat
Summary Author: Mohamed Laaifat; Jim Foster
The photo sequence above shows the waxing crescent Moon occulting the star Zeta Tauri. It was taken from Normandy, France on April 25, 2012, at about 10:30 p.m. local time. This modest, third-magnitude star in the constellation of Taurus the Bull was occulted from our perspective here on Earth by the non-illuminated portion of the Moon. Because glare is minimal with an occultation such as this, an observer can more easily view the event and time the star’s disappearance and reappearance. Note that Zeta Tauri appears the same when in contact with the lunar limb as it does in the other frames. If the Moon had an atmosphere, a slight difference in brightness could be detected.
Photo details: Nikon D60 camera; ETX 7O mm.
