For Early Risers: Moon Occults Pleiades Tomorrow Morning!

[Wayne Baggett]

Hi,

The Moon will occult stars in the Pleiades tomorrow morning starting at
about 4:20am.  The disappearances will be on the illuminated limb, so
faint stars may be tough to observe.  The Moon is a somewhat fat waning
crescent -- 24% illuminated -- and will be about 30deg above the eastern
horizon at 4:30am.  Note that sunsrise is at 5:57, so virtually all of
the event will be in twilight conditions.

Lunar occultations can be fun to watch as the star approaches the limb
and then suddenly wink out of existence.  With bright stars, the effect
can be startling.  If a star is double you might see it wink out in
stages as each component is covered separately; a few very close doubles
have been discovered with occultation observations.

Unfortunately, our weather forecast is not promising, with the most
optimistic of several sources predicting 50% cloud cover.  If you're up
early and have the opportunity, maybe give it a try.

Wayne