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Jupiter Occulted by the Moon

Posted by michael on from the photo-op dept.

flag burning writes "A rare and spectacular event will occur in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Dec. 7 when the brilliant planet Jupiter and three of its largest satellites pass behind Earth's Moon. Along the Eastern Seaboard, the Moon will be more than 20 degrees above the horizon when it covers Jupiter in the predawn hours."

7 of 27 comments (clear)

  1. "occulted"? by blackcoot · · Score: 2, Funny

    us computer vision folks refer to that as occlusion / occluding features / etc.

    guess it'd be nice if all the sciences spoke the same language (well, other than math)

  2. Re:Spectacular? by noselasd · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sure it is interresting,
    Now, you'll need a goat, a virgin, a sharpened blade,
    wait till ...

  3. Re:Spectacular? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Exactly..

    Basically, a tiny little dot in the sky (which for most viewers is indistinguishable from a random star) and three of its largest satellites (which are completely invisible under normal circumstances) are temporarily covered by the moon as it orbits the earth. BFD. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often, though I guess on the astronomical scale, it's fairly common. (And by the way...what's up with the rest of Jupiter's satellites? Off somewhere for a nice dinner? Or are they occulted as well?)

    Now, in the "man bites dog" category, if the moon should ever be occulted by Jupiter (etc), that would qualify as "spectacular". Definitely wake me up for that one.

  4. Re:Spectacular? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    a sharpened blade, a virgin and a goat?

    what's the knife for, encouraging the virgin?

  5. Yawn. by AlexeiMachine · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wake me up when Jupiter passes in front of our moon.

  6. Re:Spectacular? by fuzzybunny · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's a fascinating event, especially if you can make out the "ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS" stamped on it in big glowing letters.

    Oh wait, that's Jupiter's moon.

    --
    Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage
  7. Re:Spectacular? by boojum.cat · · Score: 4, Funny
    I can't see how having jupiter hidden from view by the moon will be particularly "spectacular"
    That's because you didn't read the article carefully. It says
    the brilliant planet Jupiter and three of its largest satellites pass behind Earth's Moon
    The rest of the satellites, I assume, will pass in front.
    --
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