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Credit & Copyright: Cayetana Saiz
Explanation:
Sometimes, the Moon visits the Pleiades.
Technically, this means that the orbit of
our Moon
takes it directly in front of the famous
Pleiades star cluster, which is far in the distance.
The technical term for the event is an
occultation,
and the Moon is famous for its rare occultations
of
all
planets and several well-known
bright stars.
The Moon's tilted and
precessing orbit makes its occultations of the
Seven Sisters star cluster bunchy,
with the current epoch
starting
in 2023 continuing monthly until 2029.
After that, though, the next occultation
won't
occur until 2042.
Taken from
Cantabria,
Spain on April 1, the
featured image
is a composite where previous exposures of the
Pleiades from the same camera and location were
digitally added to the last image to bring up the star cluster's
iconic blue glow.
Jigsaw Challenge:
Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon - pleiades
Publications with words: Moon - pleiades
See also:
- APOD: 2026 April 24 Á Young Moon and Sister Stars
- APOD: 2026 April 22 Á Earthset with an iPhone
- APOD: 2026 April 15 Á The ISS Transits the Moon
- APOD: 2026 April 11 Á Artemis II: Flight Day 6
- APOD: 2026 March 2 Á The Dusty Surroundings of Orion and the Pleiades
- APOD: 2026 February 23 Á Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster
- The Bay of Rainbows