Occultation of Mars - February 2020

On the morning of 18th February, 2020 Mars disappeared behind the moon for about an hour. This is called as an occultation.

Even though the moon and the planets travel along roughly  the same path in the sky, called ecliptic, their paths diverge slightly. On rare occasions, the geometry is just right and the moon passes over the planet causing an occultation.

Below are some pictures taken by me of today's occultation.

Mars about to disappear behind the moon. 

Moments before the occultation.

Moments after the occultation.

Mercury Transit of 2019

Transit of Mercury is an astronomical event when the planet Mercury appears to be traveling across the disc of the Sun. This event is quite rare and may happen about 13-14 times in a century.

Below is picture taken by me during of the transit of Mercury on November 11, 2019.