December 3, 2025: Tonight, the bright nearly Full moon occults several stars in the Pleiades for observers across North America. Electra’s disappearance is visible from most regions, with events beginning during evening hours. Use a binocular or spotting scope to watch stars slip behind the lunar limb and reappear later.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:01 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:20 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Moon Occults Pleiades
After darkness falls tonight for sky watchers across North America, the moon occults (eclipses) brighter stars in the Pleiades star cluster. For sky watchers in Greenland and Europe, the event begins after midnight.
In North America, step outside this evening and look for the bright moon, 99% illuminated. The nearly Full (Cold) moon is nearly halfway up in the eastern sky. From the Central Time Zone, at about three hours after sunset (around 7 p.m. CST), the moon is nearly halfway up in the sky, though it is higher for observers farther eastward and lower farther westward. In western North America, the moon is about 20° above the eastern horizon. In Seattle, sunset occurs at 4:18 p.m., so the Electra occultation begins during the latter stages of evening twilight.
The moon is slightly west, or to the right, of the Pleiades. A spotting scope or binocular shows the cluster and the lunar orb, though a lower-power binocular may leave a temporary afterimage, similar to the spots seen after a camera flash. Watch the stars disappear behind the moon and then reappear later.
As Earth rotates and the sky seems to shift westward, the moon slowly moves eastward and covers and uncovers the stars in the cluster. The cluster is larger than the moon’s diameter, so most North American observers see some of the brighter stars go through the occultation process.
As an example, the occultation of Electra, the western-most bright star in the group, begins at these local times for selected cities:
Electra’s Disappearance Times
As an example, the occultation of Electra, the western-most bright star in the group begins at these local times for these selected cities:
| City | Local Time |
| New York | 8:41 p.m. |
| Toronto | 8:28 p.m. |
| Chicago | 7:16 p.m. |
| Monterrey, MX | 6:52 p.m. |
| Dallas | 6:58 p.m. |
| Calgary | 6:21 p.m. |
| Denver | 6:02 p.m. |
| Las Vegas | 4:56 p.m. |
| Seattle | 5:16 p.m. |
| Juneau | 4:43 p.m. (sunset 3:10 p.m.) |
The starting and ending times (source) for this star can be found for other locations. The time are listed in UTC. Subtract 5 hours for Eastern Time, 6 hours for Central, 7 hours for Mountain, and so on working westward in North America.
Here are links to the occultation times for Maia, Alcyone, and Atlas. As the moon revolves eastward, the occultations for Alcyone and Atlas occur at more northerly latitudes.
Watch the progress of the moon’s occultation of the Pleiades star cluster.
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