Occultation of Venus + Super High Rez Pluto!

This morning, while Central Illinois was shrouded in thick fog, something special was happening in the sky, hidden from view. The Moon passed in front of Venus from the perspective of some parts of North America - an occurrence called an occultation. Luckily, others had clear skies and captured some beautiful photos! 

You can see these and more in a lovely collection at EarthSky.org 

Steve Pauken in Winslow, Arizona captured this fine shot of the moon and Venus, just as Venus was disappearing behind the moon’s limb, on December 7, 2015.

Greg Hogan created this composite image that showed the moon about to sweep over Venus, and finally engulfing it.

Since the Moon is in orbit around the Earth, it passes in front of objects in the Solar System and Milky Way all the time. When it passes in front of bright objects like Venus or bright stars, it can be a fun challenge to observe. The Moon will occult the red star Aldebaran at about 8 PM on January 19, 2016. I'll remind you to watch! 

And in case you missed it last week, take a look at the highest resolution image from the New Horizons mission to Pluto yet. Click the link below each image to learn more.

Check out those icy plains, abruptly ending in the jagged ice mountains! This view is about 50 miles wide. Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Pluto's Badlands. This cliff is part of Pluto's rugged canyon system. Erosion of water and nitrogen ice has distorted and sculpted this region. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

This video offers better context of where these places are located on Pluto: 

The New Horizons mission has been incredibly successful, and hasn't sent all its information back to Earth yet. I can't wait to see what is next.

You can always learn the latest news from space and what's up in the night sky by visiting the Dome Planetarium at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. And don't miss Laser Light Night this weekend!