Updated 1:34 p.m
9/11/2023, 11:41 am
During Thursday morning, it was possible to observe a rare astronomical phenomenon in the sky. The moon covered Venus shortly before 11 am. In favorable weather, the phenomenon should have been observable even with the naked eye. A live video transmission of the phenomenon is offered by the Institute of Physics of the University of Silesia in Opava. The moon exposed Venus shortly after noon, for Opava the rise was estimated at 12:15.
The Moon was seen in a narrow crescent phase at dawn on Thursday morning. Venus also appeared in the sky and was clearly visible. Shortly before 11 o’clock, the Moon covered Venus. The spectacle should have been visible with the naked eye in good weather.
The ascent of Venus from behind the unlit region of the Moon was also to be seen. It only lasted tens of seconds. “Venus will also have a phase – similar to the Moon between the full moon and the last quarter, so it will appear as a glowing oval in the telescope,” said the Institute of Physics of the University of Silesia in Opava.
For Opava, the approximate time of ascent was set at 12:15, for other places in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the times of the phenomenon could differ by tens of minutes.
This is a relatively rare phenomenon. Statistically, it is possible to see about one such eclipse of the planet by the Moon per year from one place on Earth.
“Our cosmic satellite moves around the Earth on a path that is slightly elongated, but also slightly “tilted” to the main plane of the Solar System, so we only observe so-called conjunctions – angular approaches of the Moon to bright planets or stars. But when it happens that it is “The Moon, on its path just near the plane of the Earth’s orbit (the so-called ecliptic plane), can pass directly in front of the planet,” said the staff of the Institute of Physics. They added that it may not only be Venus, but all the planets orbiting the Sun near the plane of the ecliptic.
TN.cz
