27 January 2023
January is building up to be a fascinating month for celestial occurrences, as one of the solar system’s outer planets will totally disappear behind the moon in some parts of the world. According to Space.com, Uranus, which can only be seen through a telescope, will slip below the moon during an occultation on Saturday, January 28, and individuals in the far north and portions of Asia will be able to witness it. According to In-The-visibility Sky.org’s map, the event will be visible in Alaska, Canada’s far north, Greenland, Russia, and Japan. It is scheduled for 10:28 p.m. EST on Saturday and 03:28 p.m. GMT on Sunday. However, visibility will differ by region.
Occultations occur when one celestial body appears to pass behind another from Earth’s perspective. “Lunar occultations are only visible from a limited portion of the Earth’s surface,” said In-The-Sky.org. As a result, many people throughout the world will miss out on this spectacular spectacle because the moon’s journey in front of Uranus is affected by relativity and location on Earth. There will be no live streams of the event on YouTube for the time being. However, if this Uranus occultation is missed owing to hazy skies or geography, there will be another opportunity on September 29 that will be seen from parts of Canada, eastern Alaska, and the western United States, according to Space.com.