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See Venus in daylight! Even easier...

On Wednesday, 17 June 2026, if you have clear skies, the Moon will occult (eclipse) Venus in the middle of the day as seen from most of North America. It will be very pretty through a pair of binoculars, or a better than average sextant scope, or a small telescope. From much of the eastern USA the Moon+Venus pair will be very high in the sky, above 75° during the occultation. Check the times with your favorite app (Stellarium is a good choice). The period when Venus is entirely invisible will last about an hour, which, not coincidentally, is the amount of time that it takes the Moon to travel a distance of its own diameter (half a degree) across the celestial sphere. 

Finding the slim crescent Moon in daylight may be a little tricky, but here's where a common celestial navigation app can help you out. If you have the "Pro" version of my GPS Anti Spoof app (many of you do), then you can easily check the altitude and azimuth at the required time. Remember if you're doing this binoculars or otherwise unconstrained in altitude (skipping the sextant), an altitude of 75° feels like straight up! It will strain your neck, so consider leaning back on a nice comfy chair. 

The images below illustrate the event for Boston, Massachusetts, and the times as displayed apply to Boston specifically. Images are Stellarium simulations. The third is edited and adjusted to provide a view closer to what you would actually see.

Not in North America?? No occultation? Have a look at the crescent Moon with binoculars as close as you can get to 20:30 UT on June 17 anyway... Venus won't be far away!

One final note: you're in the occ. zone... You look with your binoculars... no Venus! Is the astronomy all wrong?? If you don't see Venus, consider the possibility that you mis-timed it, and it's hiding behind the Moon! Check again every ten minutes. :)

Frank Reed

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