The moon will block out three planets in a rare lunar occultation
After Monday, this will not happen again for another 19 years.
The moon is going to eclipse several planets and a star on Monday, in a rather creepy-sounding astronomical phenomenon called an occultation.
Despite the sinister name, all it means is that the moon will pass across something else in the sky, blocking the view of it from Earth.
This one is particularly rare because the moon will slide across not one, but three planets within the space of 24 hours.
What is an occultation?
When this happens, astronomers say the moon has eclipsed, or “occulted”, the sun.
And no, it has nothing to do with witches or the occult.
What’s going to happen?
As an added bonus, the moon will also shimmy across a star called Regulus, of the Leo constellation, which is one of the brightest in our sky.
According to EarthSky, the moon will not do this again until 2036.
The last time a triple planet moon occultation occurred was on March 5 2008, with Mercury, Venus and Neptune.
Can I watch it?
Our bright next-door neighbour planet may be visible in the daytime without a telescope from parts of Australia and New Zealand, and is the first to be occulted.
Regulus is next, and will best be seen from India and parts of the Middle East, while the red planet should be visible from parts of Mexico and Hawaii.
Mercury will be particularly hard to see since it is close to the horizon – plus you will have to be looking at the sky above the Pacific Ocean to catch a glimpse.
Why is this exciting?
Astronomers only discovered Uranus had rings when it occulted a star in 1977.
Who knows what mysteries of space they will uncover this time?
