According to astronomical science experts, if the weather is fine, from around 22 o'clock on the 26th to before dawn on the 27th, the public interested in the mainland can see a waning gibbous moon and the star Antares in the southern sky.
The Moon is a satellite of the Earth and the closest celestial body to the Earth, orbiting the sky for about one week every month. The orbit of the Moon around the Earth (the white path) and the orbit of the Earth around the Sun (the ecliptic) are not in the same plane, but have an angle of about 5 degrees.
Xiu Lipeng, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society and an expert in astronomical science popularization, said that in the process of the moon's orbit in the sky, it will pass through some bright planets or stars near the ecliptic in turn, forming a celestial phenomenon of planets conjunct the moon and stars conjunct the moon. At this time, from the Earth, the planets and stars are relatively close to the Moon.
Antares, the star α Scorpio, is a red supergiant star with a magnitude of around 1. Antares is also known as "Great Fire" in ancient times on the mainland, which belongs to the Antares of the Seven Nights of the Eastern Canglong, representing the heart of the dragon and being the symbol star in the starry sky on a summer night.
Astronomical forecasts show that at 4:39 a.m. on April 27, Antares will be conjunct, and the closest angular distance from Antares to the edge of the lunar surface will be less than half a degree, which is close to the apparent diameter of a full moon. In northeastern Africa, western Asia to Southeast Asia, and some parts of Australia, you can see the lunar occultation of Antares.
Somewhat similar to a solar eclipse, the occultation of a lunar occultation sweeps only a small part of the Earth, and can only be seen in this area, and some of these areas may be during the day and cannot be observed, and even fewer can actually be seen at night.
"This time the moon occludes Antares, although the mainland is not in the occult eclipse zone, you can see the Antares moon from around 22 o'clock on the 26th to dawn on the 27th, and the closer the two are to the dawn on the 27th. At that time, as long as the weather is fine, interested members of the public can see the reddish Antares in the southern sky on the left side of the bright moon, and the two are dependent on each other, becoming a pair of 'conspicuous bags' on the horizon. Xiu Lipeng said.
Whether in the city, in the countryside, or in the suburbs, the brightness of Antares and the Moon can be seen directly with the naked eye.
"At that time, the interested public will only need to choose a place with a good view and no light distractions, facing the southern sky to watch. If you like astrophotography, you can try to take the two in the same frame, which will be a very interesting astronomical photo. Xiu Lipeng said.
Curator: Liu Xinhui
Reporter: Zhou Runjian
Editor: Zhu Shun
Jointly produced by Xinhua News Agency and Xinhua News Agency Tianjin Branch
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