Sometimes it happens that the Moon covers a planet of the Solar System, and if that planet is one of the five brightest, the phenomenon can be observed with the naked eye or with binoculars. On the morning of August 21 this year, for an observer from Bulgaria, the Moon will cover the planet Saturn. This was announced by BTA Pencho Markishki, a physicist from the Institute of Astronomy with National Academy of Sciences at BAS and from the Astronomy Department of the Faculty of Physics of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
He explained that the occultations of the planets by the Moon have a complex periodicity, as they are determined both by the inclination of the given planet’s orbit relative to the ecliptic and by the inclination and orientation of the lunar orbit. The Moon’s orbit slowly changes its orientation in space. Last, but not least, is the geographic latitude of the observer, Markishki pointed out. “Since the Moon is a relatively close object, the latitude and the associated parallax will determine whether we will be able to observe an eclipse of a planet at all, or whether the phenomenon will only be a conjunction (apparent approach) with the Moon for us,” he said.
During the occultation of Saturn, the Moon will be a 97% illuminated disk (1.4 days after full moon) and an angular diameter of 33′ 21″. It will cover the planet with its illuminated side, but the daylight that has already arrived will make observations difficult. Saturn will have a brightness of 0.7 mag and an angular diameter of 19.1″, specified the physicist.
He is the author of the “Astronomer’s Guide” publication of the Department of Astronomy of the SU, and advises, when attempting visual and photographic observations of the phenomenon, to place an orange or red light filter in front of the lens of the instrument used (telescope, photographic telephoto lens) to reduce the blue glow of the sky. “If you have a small diameter filter in one of these colors, you can put it behind the eyepiece of the telescope,” Markishki recommended.
For the SU Astronomical Observatory, Saturn’s ring closure will begin around 06:42:12 on August 21, with the Moon at 16.5° above the southwest horizon. On August 21, the Sun will rise at 06:40 for Sofia. The moon will set at 8:26 a.m., the specialist said.
For NAOP “Nikolai Copernicus” – Varna, the closing of Saturn’s ring will begin around 06:44:42, with the Moon at a height of 13° above the southwestern horizon. On August 21, the Sun will rise at 06:21 a.m. for Varna, and the Moon will set at 08:06 a.m., said Pencho Markishki.
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