Jupiter occulted

A Rare Occultation Over North America

On the morning of October 6, 2026, skywatchers across eastern North America witnessed a celestial event as the Moon occulted Jupiter. The waning crescent Moon, with roughly 20 percent of its surface illuminated, passed directly in front of the giant planet from the perspective of observers on Earth.

Technical Setup and Image Processing

Imager Katelyn Beecroft, observing from London, Ontario, Canada, successfully recorded the occultation. Manually tracking with an 8-inch Dobsonian reflector telescope, video was captured using a ZWO ASI224MC camera. The sharpest individual frames from the footage were subsequently stacked to produce a clear, detailed final image.

Scientific Value of Amateur Observations

Planetary occultations offer valuable practical demonstrations of orbital mechanics and precise positioning. High-quality imaging produced by dedicated amateur astronomers using specialized cameras plays an important role in documenting transient astronomical phenomena.