2016 May 10
A Saturday evening occultation
On the evening of 2016 May 14 (this Saturday evening) the Moon will occult the 5th magnitude star 48 Leonis. Occultations are always fun to watch and the star will disappear at the dark limb of the Moon at 20:59UT (21:59 BST) from London and reappear just over an hour later at 22:08UT at the bright limb. From Glasgow the times are slightly earlier with disappearance at 20:47UT and reappearance at 21:58UT. The Moon at a phase of 62% will be lying below the belly of Leo at an altitude of 40 degrees. Brilliant Jupiter at magnitude -2.2 trails the Moon by 6.5 degrees.
The SkyMap Pro chart below shows the position of the Moon and star from London at 20:55UT with 48 Leonis at the 7 o’clock position just before disappearance. North is up and west to the right of the chart.
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