April 16-17, 2025: During early morning hours, the moon occults or eclipses Scorpius’ stars.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
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Two Occultations
The moon occults or eclipses two of Scorpius’ brighter stars in the south-southwestern sky. Before sunrise, the bright gibbous moon moves in front of Pi Scorpii (π Sco on the chart) and Antares, the Scorpion’s brightest star.
When a larger celestial body, such as the moon passes across our line of sight, blocks the more distant planet or star, this is known as an occultation. Occult is a verb that means to cover or hide from view. The definition applied to a noun or adjective does not apply to this astronomical configuration.
Occultation of Pi Scorpii in the Americas
April 16: Across North America, Central America, and northern South America, the moon, 90% illuminated, occults the star Pi Scorpii, which is dimmer than the Big Dipper’s stars. Find the lunar orb in the southern sky. It is west (to the right) of the star before the occultation begins.
The moon covers the star from the illuminated eastern edge or limb and the moon reappears from the western, nighttime limb. Sky watchers in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada see the star disappear, but the moon sets before the occultation ends.
Here are some disappearance and reappearance times for selected U.S. cities (For other locations use the time tables here that are listed in Universal Time (UT). For local time, subtract 4 hours for EDT; 5 hours for CDT, and so on):
| Location | Disappearance (Local Time) | Reappearance (Local Time) |
| Boston | 5:12 a.m. | Sets before reappearance |
| Miami | 4:59 a.m. | 6:34 a.m. during bright morning twilight |
| Chicago | 3:36 a.m. | 4:53 a.m. |
| Albuquerque | 1:51 a.m. | 3:22 a.m. |
| Denver | 1:56 a.m. | 3:23 a.m. |
| Seattle | 12:36 a.m. | 1:53 a.m. |
Use a binocular or spotting scope to watch the disappearance and reappearance of the star.
April 17th’s View
April 17: The moon occults Antares, for sky watchers in southern Africa. When the moon rises in mid-America, it is over 4° east of the star. An hour before sunrise, the bright moon is less than 20° up in the south-southwest, 5.7° to Antares’ lower left.
Watch the moon pass Antares before sunrise. Two occultations occur during these mornings.
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