View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in Dubai captured this image of the moon occulting Venus on March 24, 2023. Tameem wrote: “My photography of the lunar occultation of Venus, taken from UAE sky.” Thank you, Tameem! See more images as the moon occults Venus, below.
On March 24, 2023, observers in southeast Asia were treated to an extraordinary sight. Brilliant Venus and the waxing crescent moon were extremely close together and, for some, the moon occulted (passed in front of) Venus. Here are some of our favorite photos of the event from the EarthSky community.
The moon occults Venus in photos
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Michael Tech at the Heng Ee Observatory in Penang, Malaysia, captured this image on March 24, 2023, and wrote: “On March 24, 2023, astronomy enthusiasts in the eastern part of Asia were able to observe the lunar occultation of Venus. Here in Malaysia, only the northern part of the peninsular and the northern part of the Borneo island could observe the occultation. The Heng Ee Observatory is located about 31 miles (50 km) from the path of occultation, therefore a very close conjunction was observed. The moon and Venus were as close as 16.3 arc minutes from each other, where Venus was seen a mere 30 arc seconds away from the northern limb of the 2.5-day-old crescent moon. This composite image shows the sequence of the moon moving past Venus. It looks like Venus was leaving the moon, but in fact Venus was further away than the moon, so it was actually the moon moving across between the Earth and Venus.” Thank you, Michael!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Vermont Coronel Jr. in Quezon City, Philippines, captured this image of the nearing lunar occultation of Venus on March 24, 2023. Vermont wrote: “Five minutes into occultation, these buildings blocked my view.” But what a spectacular photo! Thank you, Vermont!
More images of the moon and Venus
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Muzamir Mazlan at Kusza Observatory, Malaysia, captured this image on March 24, 2023. Muzamir wrote: “First touch of Venus and the moon during lunar grazing observation from Terengganu, Malaysia. With unaided eyes, it looks like a diamond ring!” Thank you, Muzamir!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | A user going by the name Cat Meow shared this image of the moon and Venus from Singapore on March 24, 2023. Thank you!
More Venus and moon photos
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Prithvi Mani in Mumbai, India, captured this image on March 24, 2023. Prithvi wrote: “This evening’s moon with Venus.” Thank you, Prithvi!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kannan A in Singapore captured this image on March 24, 2023. Kannan wrote: “The conjunction of Venus and the waxing crescent moon, 30 minutes before the moonset while they were still visible. The 3-day-old moon was about 10% full. And fortunately the skies became clear after the evening rain, allowing the sight of these 2 celestial objects in the night sky.” Thank you, Kannan!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Filipp Romanov near Nakhodka, Primorsky Krai, Russia, captured this image on March 24, 2023. Filipp wrote: “Crescent moon and Venus conjunction above the Orthodox Church. Photographed with a mobile phone camera.” Thank you, Filipp!
Bottom line: Part of the world was treated to the sight of the moon occulting Venus on March 24, 2023. See beautiful photos of the event here.
Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Her children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, was published in 2012. She has also written a young adult dystopian novel titled A Different Sky. When she is not reading or writing about astronomy and staring up at the stars, she enjoys traveling to the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis, and paddleboarding. Kelly lives in Wisconsin.
Like what you read? Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
