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We watch our moon every day, but what if we get to see one of Jupiter’s moons, ‘Europa’, later this week? Due to a quirk of celestial arrangements, skywatchers in Africa will be able to see a star blink out of view later this month.
SEE ALSO: NASA Develops The Largest Spacecraft To Hunt For Alien Life; Will Investigate Jupiter’s Moon Europa
On June 19, skywatchers all over southern Africa will see Jupiter rise into the eastern sky before dawn, going to follow Saturn and the moon, with Mars not far behind. At 5:00 a.m. local time in Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe 0300 GMT (8:30 am IST), Jupiter will emerge to have all four ‘Galilean’ moons visible (Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, and Io), as per space.com
Europa is expected to pass in front of that star at exactly 03:05:57 UTC (8:35 am IST), but local times will vary depending on longitude, so get to the telescope early to be safe; don’t miss out on the moon just because you’re lazy. Such events are rare.
Only during the occultation do you see all four moons (one in silhouette), as the star fades away, abandoning only three points of light flanking Jupiter. When one object is obscured by some other as seen from Earth, this is referred to as an occultation. A total solar eclipse, for example, is a type of occultation.
“What tends to make the awaited occultation of Europa unique is that this moon will be in Jupiter’s shadow at the time,” officials said in a statement.
If you’re in the right place, you might be able to see this event with a small telescope.
SEE ALSO: Juno Spacecraft Captures Jupiter’s Moons Io and Europa During 39th Flyby
Cover Image: NASA
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