See the Moon invade the Hyades star cluster on 10 April

By Ade Ashford

8 April 2016 Ade Ashford

As twilight fades to dark on Sunday, 10 April, observers in the British Isles with a clear western horizon can see the three-day-old crescent Moon slowly glide through the Hyades star cluster in Taurus. This looping animation shows a simulated 10x50 binocular view the Moon's motion at 5 minute intervals from 8:55pm to 10:00pm BST as seen from the centre of the UK. Third-magnitude stars θ1 Tauri, θ2 Tauri in addition to HIP 21029 are the brightest stars covered tonight. AN animation by Ade Ashford.
As twilight fades to dark on Sunday, 10 April, observers in the British Isles with a clear western horizon can see the three-day-old crescent Moon glide through the Hyades star cluster in Taurus. This looping animation shows a simulated 10×50 binocular view of the Moon’s motion at 5 minute intervals from 8:55pm to 10:00pm BST as seen from the centre of the UK. Third-magnitude stars θ1 Tauri, θ2 Tauri and HIP 21029 are the brightest stars covered for most of the British Isles tonight. AN animation by Ade Ashford.
If your western horizon is clear from shortly before 9pm BST until midnight on Sunday, 10 April, don’t miss an opportunity to see a young crescent Moon glide slowly through the southern extremity of the Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus as seen from the UK. What’s more, this is not a spectacle that requires a large or expensive telescope to view — all you need is a typical binocular and a low wall or fence to rest your elbows on to steady the view. Naturally, a telescope — if you have one — will give a much better view.

The brightest stars covered by the Moon on this evening are magnitude +3.8 theta1 (θ1) Tauri, magnitude +3.4 theta2 (θ2) Tauri and magnitude +4.8 HIP 21029. As seen from London, the BST times at which these stars disappear behind the Moon’s advancing dark limb are 9:02pm (θ1), 9:07pm (θ2) and 10:00pm (HIP 21029). As seen from Edinburgh, the corresponding BST times are 8:55pm (θ1), 8:58pm (θ2) and 9:58pm (HIP 21029).

The usual advice for observing occultations applies inasmuch as you should be ready with your binocular or telescope a few minutes before the appointed time(s) so as not to miss out. Plus, it’s always fun to see the Moon’s orbital motion carry it ever closer to the target star until it is instantly snuffed out.

By 11:30pm on Sunday night, when the Moon is just four degrees high in the west-northwest for the centre of the UK, the 17 percent illuminated lunar crescent lies just 0.7 degrees below Aldebaran, the first-magnitude star that is the brightest in the constellation of Taurus. As the Moon sets in the British Isles, the separation of the pair will be just half a degree, or one lunar diameter.

Inside the magazine

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Find out all you need to know about observing the Moon and occultations in the April 2016 edition of Astronomy Now, the UK’s biggest monthly astronomy magazine.

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