Lunar Occultation: Aldebaran Star Hid Behind Moon For 20 Minutes
The moon has passed in front of Aldebaran Star on March 4, the brightest star from the Taurus constellation. This celestial event is called as a lunar occultation.
The lunar occultation, appearing whenever the moon reaches the point in which it locates itself between Earth and a planet, star or another celestial object, is blocking its view. The Aldebaran star is also known as a representation of bull's eye.
According to Apex Tribune, the stargazers were able to witness the cosmic event, if they went outside after 11 p.m and facing west. They only needed to find the moon in the sky. Scientists argue that at 11.10 p.m. the star was occulted by the moon, disappearing behind it. Approximately, the star has hidden 20 minutes behind Earth's natural satellite.
The scientists also argue that solar eclipses can also be considered occultation events. The researchers claim that occultation helped them for navigation but also for refining the orbit of the moon. They used the celestial events to measure coordinates of stars and to monitor the rotation of the Earth. The speed of the moon around the Earth is about 2,290 miles per hour.
Most people were unable to notice the movement because the rotation of the Earth triggers the moon to move first from east to west. Nevertheless, an occultation like the one of Aldebaran star offers star gazers the chance to see to see the moon moving in its orbit. The bright star from Taurus constellation is blinked on Saturday night when the moon passed in front of it, reported by Universe Today.
Earth Sky has posted pictures that have captured the occultation clearly. Another lunar constellation will happen on March 10, the moon will pass in front of Regulus star. But unfortunately, the heavenly event can only be seen by people in the southern part of the South Atlantic, South Africa, and South America.
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