Orwell Astronomical Society (Ipswich)
Lunar Occultation of the Pleiades, 01 April 2025
On 01 April 2025, a 16% waxing (young crescent) Moon occulted the Pleiades. Occultations of the main stars of the cluster took place during the period 20:50 - 22:40 UT (event times from the BAA Handbook for 2025, specific to Greenwich).
At my home location, the event itself would be occulted by a neighbour's house(!), and observing further compromised by a streetlight, so a trip to the countryside was required.
The following video records the event and, below it, the still images show the advance of the Moon across the Plieades at 30-minute intervals.
The orbital characteristics of the Moon mean that occultation seasons occur for specific objects. The next opportunities during 2025 to observe an occultation of the Pleiades are on: 23 June, 20 July, 12 September, 10 October and 04 December.
Nigel Evans