A thin crescent Moon will hide Venus in broad daylight: will happen tomorrow and the show is guaranteed, provided you can use a small telescope and be careful not to point it toward the sun to avoid irreversible damage to the eye. “At the time of the occultation the Moon and Venus will be about 16 degrees of angular distance from the Sun, which will make the observation certainly much more difficult, because of the intense brightness of the sky background,” says astrophysicist Gianluca Masi.
In Rome the occultation will begin at 09:14 and the event will conclude at 10:22, when both Venus and the Moon will be risen on the horizon. “Using an optical instrument or if only their eyes to the sky by day, requires great attention,” still finds Masi. “The light of the sun is in fact so intense – he continued – that even a glimpse of our star with or without a telescope, if you do not have specific protection, can be fatal to the retina.”
To enjoy the show safely, advises the expert, to choose a location from which the Sun at the time of observation, is covered in a palace or a similar obstacle “in this way – notes – you are assured not accidentally turn the gaze or the telescope at our star. ” To observe the event are also fine camera with a good telephoto lens (between 135 and 200 mm). It is advisable to finally locate the Moon-Venus pair before the Sun rise: it can be of help to keep it centered in the telescope until occultation, always keeping the sun out of sight.
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