A Dawn Spectacle: Moon Occults Venus on Wednesday April 22

Wednesday morning in the pre-dawn skies we have a rare opportunity to witness a very unique spectacle, an occultation of the planet Venus by the Moon. Think of it as an eclipse of Venus, a brief time when the Moon's orbit blocks out brilliant Venus for about an hour. From here in San Francisco the Moon and Venus will just be rising above the eastern horizon around 5:00 am and by approximately 5:11 am the Moon will close in and cover the planet. As the Moon rises and the earliest light of dawn arrives, the Moon will reveal Venus again at approximately 6:05 am. For more information, click on the image.

I am particularly fond of this special event for it was during an occulation of Venus that I first became interested in astronomy as a young boy. So my advice is to take a few minutes to experience this rare and impressive sight. It might just move you too.