Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Explanation:Sometimes Saturn disappears. It doesn't really go away, of course -- it justdisappearsfrom our view whenEarth's Moonmoves in front. Such aSaturnian eclipse, more formally called anoccultation, was visible in early 2025 along a smallswathofEarth-- fromGreenlandthrough centralEuropeand into northernAfrica. Thefeatured imageis a digital fusion of three images, the first of justSaturnbefore it disappeared, and then two more of the Moon withdifferent exposurelengths. The images were taken fromSardinia,Italy, after sunset. The bright dot near Saturn is not amoon of Saturn, but rather the star85 Aquarii, which is further behind Saturn than Saturn is behind the Moon. The next time theMoonmoves in front of Saturn, as visible fromsome place on Earth, will be in 2031.Tomorrow's picture:small but mighty