APOD: 2026 September 15 – A Daytime Eclipse: Moon Occults Venus
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On September 15, 2026, an unusual daytime celestial event occurred when the Moon temporarily occulted, or covered, the planet Venus. This phenomenon happened above the village of Cessy in France, where it was initially challenging to spot the Moon behind the clouds. Upon closer examination, it became apparent that the Moon was hiding behind a bright celestial body - Venus, which appeared as a distinct dot.
The image captured by APOD showed both the Moon and Venus displaying crescent phases, with the Moon's crescent being very thin at around 10% illumination and Venus's crescent being more substantial at approximately 25% illumination.
The difference in apparent brightness between the two celestial bodies can be attributed to their positions relative to the Sun and the varying reflectivity of their surfaces. Venus, being closer to the Sun and having more reflective clouds, appeared significantly brighter than the Moon, which had only a slight illumination of its illuminated portion.
This daytime lunar occultation of Venus was visible to only about 10% of the Earth's population, but in this particular instance, even a majority of that group experienced the event during daylight hours.
Written by urgent.news from NASA's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- APOD: 2026 September 15 – A Daytime Eclipse: Moon Occults Venus science.nasa.gov
