Uranus will vanish during 'lunar occultation' Wednesday night

[Judi Lynn]

By Brandon Specktor published about 13 hours ago

For three hours on Sept. 14, Uranus will simply disappear.



Uranus may soon be concealed. (Image credit: NASA Goddard)

Depending on where in the world you'll be Wednesday night (Sept. 14), you may be able to see Uranus disappear. (Don't worry; it'll be back again a few hours later.)

On Wednesday, the sixth planet from the sun will appear to pass directly behind Earth's moon, going completely out of sight for three and a half hours. The great disappearing act, also known as the lunar occultation of Uranus, begins around 4:41 p.m. ET (2041 GMT) and ends by 8:11 p.m. ET (0011 GMT on Sept. 15), according to In-the-sky.org. However, only viewers in Europe, northern Africa and western Asia will be at the exact right angle to see the illusion work.

Viewers in these regions will still need binoculars or a telescope to see the show, as Uranus is not a naked-eye planet. (Check this map, courtesy of In-the-sky.org, to see which regions will have the best view.)

If you are not in one of those places or you don't have a telescope, don't fret; you can watch the occultation live from Rome thanks to the Virtual Telescope Project, which will begin streaming the event at 4:45 p.m. ET (2045 GMT).

More:
https://www.livescience.com/uranus-lunar-occultation-sept-2022