The moon greets Regulus on May 22-23
(Image credit: Background: Alan Dyer/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images. Moon image: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio. Created by Anthony Wood in Canva.)
Skywatchers across parts of the Pacific will see the moon pass in front of the bright star Regulus on May 23, temporarily blocking its light in a celestial event known as a lunar occultation. Elsewhere, viewers will watch the star pass extremely close to the lunar disk as the pair drift through the constellation Leo.Why can't everyone see the moon occult Regulus?The moon orbits Earth at an average distance of just 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers), close enough for an effect called "parallax viewing" to occur, where an object appears to be in a subtly different position against its backdrop based on where you view it from. The parallax effect can cause the moon's position to vary by as much as 2 degrees depending on where you are on Earth, according to NASA.Who will see the moon occult Regulus?Stargazers in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and a host of other Pacific island nations will see the shadowed side of the half-lit moon pass in front of Regulus during the early hours of May 23, blocking its light entirely, according to the astronomy guide In-The-Sky.From Sydney, Australia, the blue-white light of Regulus will appear to graze the top of the lunar disk after sunset, before skirting around its sunlit side to set beneath the moon shortly before midnight.TOP TELESCOPE PICK:
